Passing Imprints
by Aldryne21
Summary: Part One: Exposure Time: In April 2004 Harry Potter was visiting New York City. In February 2005 Agent Gibbs and his team investigate a double homicide. One of the victims may have had it coming… COMPLETE NOW Part Two: Red Soaked Poppies: Two murders, one dead man walking and too many questions. Sometimes digging into the past is the only way to go forth. (no slash/mostly canon)
1. Prologue: Snapshots In New York

**Hi everyone! This is a HP/NCIS crossover with a focus on the NCIS world especially in Part One which will have five chapters in total. I'm currently looking for a beta though this chapter has been beta'ed a long time ago. PM me if you're interested.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So no money is made with this and (luckily) none of these events are true.**

* * *

 **PART ONE: Exposure Time**

 **Prologue: Snapshots In New York**

**April 17, 2004**

Central Park in April was as fickle as the weather. There were days when the park almost looked deserted, when heavy rain fell on the dirt paths, turning them in to muddy pools. The water in the lake was so dark that it mirrored the sky, as thousands of raindrops pelted the surface in an never ending stream.

On other days, like today, you were fondly reminded that Spring had arrived. Families with children were holding picnics on the lawn. Mothers fussed worriedly over their rebellious offspring, who in turn were adamantly convinced it was too warm for a jacket or even a sweater for that matter. Fathers and sons were playing catch and the occasional enthusiastic young dog sprinted after every moving object.

A group of teenage girls loudly gossiped and texted, while glancing and giggling at the sight of the shirtless college males who were playing Frisbee on an open field in their line of sight. A couple lay on a blue spotted blanket completely wrapped up in each other, unaware of what was happening around them. The woman smiled into their kiss, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

 _How quaint._

None of them had the faintest idea that they were being watched. On a bench overlooking the picturesque meadow, a middle aged man was eating an ice cream. It had two scoops, always vanilla first and then chocolate, in that particular order.

The sunglasses and his cap hid his scrutinizing gaze, so he could observe the people in front of him as they went about their leisurely business. He had a book open on his lap and turned a page every two minutes, like clockwork, without reading one single word. This timid state was in sharp contrast with his physical appearance, which was more suited to cut down the tree that made the book than handling the frail pages.

All in all it was proving to be a waste of time. He'd been here two days ago and spent the entire time annoyed by the happy little families and their silly little pastimes. Yesterday he was posted at the East River Ferry but nobody caught his attention or looked even remotely passable. His leave was almost up, one day and he was expected back at work.

Suddenly someone cursed nearby. He looked to his right and saw a young man getting up painfully rubbing the back of his head. He had been crouching down probably to get a better angle if that photo camera was anything to go by.

A ball was lying at the young photographer's feet. A kid was already running towards him, but the boy slowed down and stopped at a safe distance fearful of the man's reaction. He could see that quivering lip from his spot on the bench. The young man didn't start shouting or loudly demanded to see the boy's parents, instead he crouched down again and held out the ball. The child hesitantly got closer and quickly grabbed the ball hugging it against his chest.

The young man was talking now, presumably reassuring the boy that he wasn't mad, but at the same time, telling him to watch out where he aimed at in the future. By now the boy's father was there and the young man got up still smiling reassuringly. The dad obviously apologized but the young man waved it off. They talked for a few minutes until the boy impatiently tugged his father's pants probably demanding ice cream.

 _Spoiled brat_.

They left and the young man kneeled down again to take some more pictures. Finally satisfied the photographer got up and walked around to find another appealing view. As the young man got closer he finally got a better look. And immediately clenched his hand around his book, so forcefully that he crumpled the page.

What a shock, from this distance the resemblance was uncanny. Not a complete copy, but definitely workable. The photographer was young, probably somewhere in his twenties because the boyish angles and limps were all gone. He had black hair long enough to cover his forehead and a part of his eyes. He was wearing a white and blue T-shirt and had a sweater tied around his hips. The jeans and the shoes were nothing special as was his backpack. The only valuable thing he seemed to own was that camera. The round glasses were a bit out of place which explained why he hadn't spotted him earlier.

In other words, _he was perfect._

He waited until the young man was almost out of sight stretching his arms and legs before getting up. He readjusted his cap and followed at a safe distance, casually strolling along the path so no one would suspect. Honestly, he didn't worry about being seen. New York was such a busy city. It was very hard to notice if someone was following you in particular. Besides, he wasn't exactly a novice when it came to this game.

They were out of the park now and the young man turned around another corner, but he didn't hurry to catch up. Instead he smirked, this seemed destined after all. His car was parked not far from here. A couple of blocks further the young man apparently reached his destination when he stopped at a rare payphone.

While the dark-haired photographer counted his coins the man looked around to seek a better spot. They were near Lincoln Center and luck was on his side again. There was a vending machine close by. Under the guise of searching for a dollar he planted himself nearby so he could listen in.

"Hi Hermione." The young man greeted happily. The very next moment he was nonchalantly holding the phone at arm's length grinning widely. A woman was yelling. He couldn't understand the words but it sounded like a lecture.

 _A girlfriend perhaps?_ The voice was too young for a mother.

The young man kept smiling though and after a minute when the yelling stopped he brought the phone back to his ear, "Of course I was listening or trying to, before you made me lose my hearing."

There was a pause and the mischievous glint in his eyes only grew. "You're right Ron. Hermione, I apologize for leaving without a word. It was deplorable behavior on my part. I just needed to leave." For the first time he heard something akin to frustration. The young man continued, "You do understand that, don't you? I didn't want to handle another memorial service. What's the use? More than half of the people at those things weren't there nor did they lose someone. It's become nothing more than publicity. And I can't stay out of it when I'm in London."

 _Ah, that explained the accent._

"You call it running, I call it a well deserved vacation. Kingsley authorized it." The young man argued briefly adding another coin. "And you already know that Ginny knew. She understood."

"No, I'm between cases obviously."

 _Cases? This was something else. The kid had a job?_

He finally 'found' his dollar and slowly inserted it in the machine dawdling to make a choice.

"I was staying in a good neighborhood. Yes, I'm sure. Lovely, it was a five minutes' walk to Central Park." The conversation turned more relaxed now as the young man talked about the pictures he'd taken.

"Guggenheim, Empire State Building, Ellis Island. No, I didn't stop at the Library. And yes I'm staying in normal New York. Thank Merlin."

 _What a strange thing to say_ , the man shrugged and thought, _probably the result of some new age crap._ He decided he'd dallied long enough and pressed a random button.

"Heading North, yes I've got directions. The guy behind the bar at my hostel drew me a map. Okay, okay, 'Take the Seventh Avenue Express all the way to Wakefield and then the train from Mount Vernon East Metro Station'. It's just a name, 'Mione, not an omen of ill fortune. Why you and Trelawney never got along… Anyway, I'll try to hitch a ride a bit out of the city at the Interstate 87. And I don't want to know if 87 is a bad number according to Professor Vector."

He perked up. _Interesting information, definitely workable_ , he thought as he disinterested watched the bag of chips fall down.

"I'll call in um about a week? Yes, Hermione I promise." The young man started to talk faster and inserted his last coin, "Yes, I'll be fine. Stop worrying, _Mum_ , I'll brush my teeth, comb my hair, however hopeless it may be and eat all my vegetables."

There was another pause until the young man continued amused, "I'm so going to get slapped for that when I get back, aren't I?"

"Well, take care of her and give my love to everyone."

The young man snorted, "Ron, I'm definitely not a girl."

"Bye, bye Hermione, I'll stay out of trouble." The young man said then continued with mocked indignation, "Those were not my fault. But I've got to get going now, bye." And he hung up.

Now it was his turn. He folded his sunglasses and put them away while taking a step closer. He stopped at an appropriate distance and loudly cleared his throat. The reaction was humorous and disquieting at the same time.

The dark-haired man turned around fast, very fast and his hand went to his waistband as if he was carrying a gun. He froze but the young man smiled sheepishly when he realized there was no incentive for such a reaction.

 _Oh, he was wrong, he just didn't know it. Still, precaution was advised in this case._

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, but I couldn't help catching some bits and pieces of your conversation. I'm traveling to Albany. If you're interested to go up North, I can give you a lift. It will save you a subway fare at least." He smiled warmly succeeding in trying to sound as non-threateningly as possible.

"I'm not really tight on cash. That is, I don't mean that I'm rich just that um…" The young man spoke uncomfortably and looked ready to clasp his mouth but he interrupted him.

"Don't worry kid, I'm not going to mug you. Name's Darren." He offered his hand with another bright smile. The young man hesitated only a second before he made up his mind.

"Harry." They shook hands. Darren's eyes flicked downwards as he noticed that the young man was wearing a wedding band. He quickly covered up his surprise with a question, "So what do you say? For me, it's all the same."

"Are you parked far away?" Harry asked looking up and down the street.

"Just a few blocks from here."

The other man seemed to mull his offer over and Darren tried very hard not to cross his fingers. Finally Harry said, "I'll walk with you while I'm still deciding."

"No problem. Being cautious is a good trait. So what brings you to the States?" Darren asked curiously.

"Vacation." Harry answered and heaved the backpack on to one shoulder, "I haven't travelled like this before, I mean the whole sightseeing thing. A few years back my friends and I had an um extended camping trip though we mostly stayed in the woods."

"Sounds like fun."

"Wasn't really, the emphasis on survival wore me down. It wasn't relaxing or anything. This is different, up till now I've had fun here. New York is a bustling city." Harry grinned enthusiastically.

"You're right, personally I prefer the woods. I had a couple of trainings there, focusing on survival. Never felt so alive in my life."

"You're a soldier?"

"Former Marine," Darren proudly tapped the dog tags hanging around his neck, "Spent almost twenty years in the Corps until I got honorably discharged last year when an IED got the better of me. Can't hear a thing from this side most of the time." He pointed to his left ear.

"That's awful."

"Well, I try to look at the positive side of it all. I have my arms and legs and I'm home now. I can spent more time with my son."

"I'll bet he's pleased." Harry sounded wistful all of a sudden. Darren rejoiced silently, _very workable indeed._

"Look," Darren said and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and showed Harry a photo. A boy with a red paper crown on his unruly black hair blew out five candles on top of a chocolate cake that read 'Happy Birthday Ethan' in brilliant blue frosting. "I took this a couple of years ago, but it's still my favorite photograph."

"He looks very happy." The young man commented and Darren only nodded at that. He put his wallet away and grabbed his keys.

"Here we are." He finally said and leaned against his pickup truck. "What's the verdict?" He grinned and watched how Harry glanced inside his car. A Tweety Bird bounced on the dashboard and there were a couple of comic books, a thick book about whales and another about mummies conveniently sprawled across the passenger's seat. "I hope you don't mind the mess. Ethan always keeps a couple of books in here. He'll read while sleeping if he got the chance."

"My godson's like that as well. He's scary smart for his age, but only if it involves 'yucky' stuff." Harry smiled fondly. "I got him a book from the Natural History Museum about brains. The pictures are absolutely nauseating. No doubt he'll love it."

Darren laughed, "Sounds like a great kid."

"So, you taking this lift?" He asked as he opened his door, effortlessly keeping the eagerness out of voice. Harry had walked to the other side of the car and gave him a scrutinizing look.

"I'd like too, if it's really not a problem." Harry said opening the passenger's door and got in mindful of the camera that rested against his chest. "It saves me time, so thanks."

Darren smiled and got in as well. He inserted the key starting the car and turned on the radio. "It's not a problem at all." He said and looked into his rearview mirror as he left the parking spot. "It's my pleasure."

* * *

 **So, this was the prologue... Intrigued? Next chapter: Aperture  
**


	2. Chapter 1: Aperture

**Hi there! I'm thrilled at the response I'm getting (THANK YOU!) so decided to hurry with the next chapter. This isn't beta'ed at all, so I apologise for the mistakes. Still looking for a beta though...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So no money is made with this and (luckily) none of these events are true.**

* * *

 **PART ONE: Exposure Time**

 **Chapter 1: Aperture **

**February 9, 2005**

Detective Thompson took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it away, aiming for the sewer as he crossed the street quickly. His parked car stood uneasy next to a lop-sided building. It must have been a warehouse at some point, but now – with the paint come off, showing the dull grey concrete and ninety percent of its dusty windows broken – it made one sorry sight. The houses on the other side weren't in any better condition.

He was dying for a scalding hot coffee and made a note to himself to send the first rookie who unfortunately stumbled across his path on a run for coffee. Maneuvering himself between the parked police cars he entered the narrow alleyway. With his hands firmly lodged inside his pockets Detective Thompson approached the taped-off area and swung underneath it.

"What have we got?" He asked the uniformed policeman not bothering trying to remember the man's name this early in the morning. Certainly not before he had his coffee.

"Two male victims. One was shot in the neck." The policeman pointed unnecessary to the gory sight behind him under a light spot and Thompson bit back a sarcastic retort that he could see perfectly fine. Honestly it wasn't this man's fault that somebody got murdered before the sun was up.

The man continued, "The other was hauled into an ambulance. The MP's were all over him. It wasn't looking good, sir."

"Mmm, who discovered them?" Thompson asked after glancing around. The alley was rather long, but both of the victims were found at the beginning of the narrow walkway just a few yards from the relatively well-lit street.

The policeman, Rogers he remembered now, was opening his notepad. Out of the corner of his eye he saw how the coroner arrived. He nodded his head in greeting then turned his attention back at Rogers. "Jayden Rivera, he's an employee at the Blue Bells Bakery a couple of blocks from here."

"And he's where?" Thompson asked looking around again. There was no one else here with the exception of two more policemen, the coroner and the coroner's assistant.

"He'll be back in an hour. I'm sorry sir, but he insisted. Said he was going to lose his job otherwise."

Thompson rubbed his eyes tiredly, "Fine. And let me guess, nobody saw or heard a thing?"

"In this part of town?" Rogers retorted with a raised eyebrow. _The man had a point_ , Thompson mused as he crouched down until he was leveled with their coroner.

"Anything other than the glaring obvious?"

"No, he died approximately four hours ago." The coroner pulled out the liver probe, "Rigor mortis has already set in around his face and neck."

"So time of death is anywhere between twelve and two am." Thompson summarized and opened the victim's jacket a bit further with the aid of his pen.

"Wallet's missing." He remarked.

"Mugging gone wrong?" The coroner suggested with a shrug.

"Could be… What is this?" Thompson lifted a chain with dog tags from beneath the victim's shirt.

"Damn." He cursed out loud as he rose again reaching for his phone, "Better call NCIS."

...

Kate looked up as Tony stalked into the office muttering to himself with a murderous expression plastered on his face. The reason for his foul mood was quite obvious. His pants were soaking wet starting just below his knees.

"Don't comment." He grumbled making his way to his desk while dripping water on the floor. Tim and Kate shared an amused glance.

She smirked, "I wasn't but since you asked: what happened?" Tony sank down on his chair and pulled open a drawer.

"Frozen puddle. It's almost March for crying out loud."

"Doesn't seem that frozen to me." Kate commented, "And it's the ninth today, that hardly qualifies as 'almost March'."

"It is freezing." Tony argued annoyed.

"I don't get it. It hasn't stopped freezing yet." Tim said puzzled and then tilted his head to the side, "Maybe you should lay off the burgers."

"McGee has a point, you seem more…" Kate added happily and then paused.

"More what?" Tony asked sidetracked with the task of untying his shoes.

"Just more and is that a new buckle hole?" Kate commented when Tony laid his belt on his desk.

"No, yes, maybe," Tony answered distracted while pulling his legs down his trousers, "why do you know how many holes my buckle has?" He asked then shook his head as if he'd rather not know and stood up with a jump, finally getting his trousers on, "Never mind, I get what you're implying and you're wrong. I'm not fat, I'm just dressing in layers because of the cold." He took his belt and started putting it back through the loops of his dry trousers.

"Stripping in the office, Dinozzo?"

Tony swirled around in an instant and visibly gulped at Gibbs' stern gaze, "No, Boss, I mean I am… Never mind, I'm done now."

"Good." Gibbs nodded, "Gear up, we have a dead Petty Officer in Baltimore."

...

After a much longer drive than expected – the traffic was hellish – Gibbs and his team arrived at the crime scene. Gibbs observed their surroundings as he exited the van. This neighborhood had seen better times and those were long gone.

As he approached the yellow tape a detective in a trench coat pushed himself of the wall and walked up to them, "Took you long enough, been waiting here for hours."

Tony noted amused that it was hard to tell which of the two was more pissed at their delay: Gibbs or that Detective.

"Detective Thompson," The man held out his hand, regardless of the fact that Gibbs was still glaring and continued unperturbed, "and this is Rogers. Fellow over there is the one who found them." He motioned to a miserable looking man sitting on an overturned trash bin.

"Them?" Gibbs asked.

"The other one was shipped off to the nearest hospital."

"Victim's Petty Officer Owen Price." Gibbs read off his notepad, "Any idea on the other's ID?"

"No clue. Look, once I found out he was one of yours I left the rest of the crime scene untouched." The detective said and held his hands up, "It's all yours. However if you do need some local help," He reached inside his pocket and retrieved a card, "Ring me up. Rogers, stay until the agent says you're done. And remind me that I owe you a coffee." He added while walking backwards to his car, "I would stay but I'm the only one working Homicide at the moment that isn't on desk duty."

With that apology Detective Thompson closed his car door and drove off. "Don't mind him. He's usually more helpful but the flu felled his department and he's been working double shifts."

"All right. Dinozzo pictures, McGee bag and tag, Kate sketch. And hurry up before it starts snowing." Gibbs said as he looked up at the sky. It didn't look promising, he could already smell the snow in the air.

"I'm Agents Gibbs and you'll tell me everything you know." He said to the officer and walked towards their witness. Rogers tailed behind him opening his notepad and held it up for Gibbs to read. It wasn't much to go on.

The witness looked extremely agitated as Gibbs stopped in front of him.

"Mr. Rivera-" Gibbs started after a final glance at the notepad, but he was immediately interrupted.

"Look, I already told you what happened."

"And you'll tell it again, so get to it." Gibbs ordered curtly and the other man sighed looking at Rogers hoping to find some sympathy there.

"Just go over it one more time and then I'll drop you off at the shop. I need to order an early lunch for half our precinct anyway." Rogers said amiably, "Your boss will understand."

Heartened by that promise the man started to tell his tale, "I was walking down the street to go to work. I always cross to this side of the road. Those buildings," He motioned at the warehouses at the other side, "there's always trouble there. Homeless people and addicts and I don't go looking for trouble. But as I passed this alley I heard someone moan so I stopped and took out my cell phone for some more light. That's when I saw the blood. It's not like in those movies. There was a dead man, but the other one was still breathing so I called 911."

"Did you notice anything else, anything at all?" Gibbs inquired further.

"I'm sorry there was so much blood, I could hardly look at anything else. But the other man, he suddenly spoke. It was like the voice of a dead man, cold and raspy." The witness shuddered.

"What did he say?"

"He said… Let me think for a minute. He said something. I couldn't understand it." Rivera looked around unsurely rubbing the back of his head, "And a name. Something short."

Gibbs tapped the side of his notepad impatiently. This was exactly why evidence was that more reliable than witnesses. Rivera was mouthing different names now. Rogers gave Gibbs an apologetic look when the agent looked at him.

"Ethan. The man said something and then Ethan." Rivera suddenly spoke up again.

Gibbs asked the man a few more questions but it was clear that Jayden Rivera knew nothing more. He scanned the area. Dinozzo and Kate were still busy taking photographs and sketching. McGee had moved away from the taped area and was rummaging around the trash, his face laced with disgust. He send Rogers away just as Ducky and Gerald arrived at the crime scene.

"Well, Jethro, what have you got for me on this fine morning?"

Gibbs was about to answer when McGee called for him. He redirected Ducky to Dinozzo and Kate and ducked underneath the yellow tape. "What is it, McGee?"

"A cheap cell phone and an empty wallet. Possibly the victim's, Boss."

"Good, bag and tag. Did anyone come here yet?" He asked as he noted the absence of onlookers around the crime scene.

"Nobody yet, but it's been hours since the police arrived here. The novelty probably wore off." McGee shrugged as he peeled of his gloves.

"Or nobody's interested here." Gibbs observed. They walked back to the alley where Gerald was loading Petty Officer Price on a gurney.

"Finished?"

"All set, Boss." Tony replied.

"You're the most familiar with Baltimore. Call up some officers and knock on doors." Gibbs told him as he handed his senior agent the detective's card. "Two blocks in either direction will suffice."

"On it." Tony replied already dialing the number as he moved away.

"Kate, go to the hospital and get those bullets. While you're there find out who our second victim is. McGee, with me." Gibbs coordinated thanking his foresight for coming here with multiple cars.

...

Back at the office McGee pulled the information he had on the Petty Officer on the board.

"What do we have so far?" Gibbs asked.

"Not much boss." McGee started and brought the picture of the dark haired soldier on the screen, "Petty Officer Owen Price, 26 years old, was on R&R for fifteen days. He has one brother, Sam Price who's three years older. The brother is currently revalidating from an IED attack. He was here to visit."

"Where?"

"Wilkes-Barre hospital." McGee answered, "Also, Price was renting an apartment in Baltimore."

"Anything else?"

"I brought the cell phone down to Abby."

"McGee, see if Abby needs help with that phone. And send the address of Price's apartment to Dinozzo. I'm heading upstate to visit the brother." Gibbs said and grabbed his coat. Before he could leave there was one stop he had to make.

...

"Ah, Jethro, I was wondering when you would find your way down here." Ducky looked up from the body when the doors to the morgue opened.

"Anything for me, Ducky?"

"I can confirm the coroner's initial analysis of the time of death. When the bullet hit Petty Officer Price it ripped open his common carotid artery right here." Ducky pointed at the gaping wound, "He went into shock almost immediately due to the severe loss of blood and died within mere minutes of being shot."

"Anything else?"

"I did find something peculiar smudged on the man's eyelids. I haven't gotten around to send this to Abby."

"His eyelids," Gibbs mused as he took the small plastic container which contained nothing on first sight. He looked back at the Petty Officer's body. "His murderer closed Price's eyes."

"That was my assumption as well. Abby will no doubt find similar traces around the victim's pockets."

...

"Boss, I thought you already left." McGee briefly looked over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the screen in front of him.

Gibbs held up an evidence bag and dangled it in front of a giddy Abby. "Thanks, Gibbs." She said as she signed the bag and set it next to the clothes on her lab table. "McGee's trying to make the phone tick again. We should have it processed when you get back."

...

"I didn't do nothing." The middle-aged women stated before Tony could flash his badge. Her voice was hoarse, disinterested as she eyed him from top to bottom. She tapped her cigarette against the door causing the ashes to fly onto the street.

"I wasn't going to accuse you of anything, ma'am." Tony offered a dazzling smile, "I'm Special Agent Dinozzo. There's been a murder around your-"

"Ain't seen anything either." She interrupted, her upper lip curled up disapprovingly. Without uttering another word she practically slammed the door in his face. Tony sighed and risked a sideways glance at the other side of the street where a local cop was questioning the inhabitants. It didn't look like he had any more luck than him. This was the thirty-ninth house he tried and he hadn't collected anything useful so far. He received a similar welcome everywhere the door was answered. Half of the time he simple stared at the door and waited futilely for minutes.

After yet another street without so much of a sliver of usable information – the only thing that could be anything was a rather distorted tale of a man who if he had ventured out of his house would have been arrested for public intoxication – Tony approached the crime scene again. The yellow tape was being removed, all of the evidence previously reaped, by Rogers who stopped until Tony was within earshot.

"Anything?" The local cop asked. Tony shook his head, "The man living at number 556 said it must be the furry mutant. Even told me its name's Bill."

"Ah of course, Dawson, right?" Rogers asked and continued when Tony only nodded, "Completely cuckoo when he's sober and then when he's drunk…" Rogers left the rest of his sentence unsaid. "I canvassed the warehouse as you asked, Agent Dinozzo. It was completely empty. There was an abandoned den on the first floor, but whoever lived there hopefully found shelter somewhere else in the city. It's damn cold."

"So no witnesses?"

"Detective Thompson will send you the data of the nearest traffic cams." Rogers evaded and answered the question at the same time.

"Good." Tony nodded, _that at least will be helpful_. He had gotten the address of Price's apartment and apparently the Petty Officer wasn't a local in this part of town. So it stands to reason that he grabbed a cab or drove here himself. Because there was no way that Price walked here at night while it was freezing. The place of the murder itself was rather strange. What had the Petty Officer been doing here? Tony rubbed his hands together and said goodbye. Hopefully Kate had a more fruitful time at the hospital or they weren't going anywhere with this investigation.

...

The ER was packed and for a second Kate felt as if she was at some crowded railway station or airport. It took some time to find the right person to lead her to their second victim and the attending doctor. When she finally met him she was exhausted and craving a coffee.

"Dr. Curtis?" Kate asked tentatively after her guide had directed her through yet another door and left. The short man looked up, signed some papers and handed them to the nurse behind the desk. "Agent Todd, I presume?" He held out his hand and after a brief handshake motioned her to follow him.

"I fear you'll have a double homicide on your hands soon." He said bluntly as he opened a door and gallantly let her enter. The first thing Kate noticed were the wires and the steady beeping noise.

"He's stable for now, but he lost a lot of blood I'm afraid. It's doubtful he'll wake up again. His body's already giving up."

Kate walked closer to the man's bed. He was pale, very pale and looked so vulnerable. Quickly she assessed the man in front of her. He was tall and well-built. It wasn't that farfetched to assume that this man was a soldier as well if the cut of his hair was anything to go by. Half of his face however was hidden underneath a respirator but it was clear that the man lying in front of her was at least a decade older than Petty Officer Price if not more.

"He was shot three times in the chest. One of the bullets however is still lodged into his spine. It was too risky to operate there when we couldn't even repair all the other internal damage." Dr. Curtis continued and shook his head sadly.

"Would it be all right to get his fingerprints or have you found some ID on him?" Kate asked.

"Go ahead. The nurses have his clothes at the desk as well as the bullets, but no ID. They'll give you everything you need." The doctor's beeper suddenly went off, "You don't need me right now?" He asked already halfway out of the door. Kate shook her head.

"Just don't dislodge the heart rate measurement." He pointed towards John Doe's index finger, "Otherwise the alarm goes off."

When he was gone she put on her gloves and retrieved the fingerprint paper and ink from her bag. She worked as quickly and efficiently as possible. It felt rather strange being here, at the bedside of a 'living' murder victim. She wondered if the man had a family somewhere, people who worried when he hadn't come back home. She hoped, more for the sake of this hypothetical family than their investigation, that his prints were in some database. Maybe they could get here in time to say goodbye.

...

Sam Price shared many physical traits with his brother: same nose, same chin, same green eyes. When Gibbs gave him the terrible news the man let out a shaky breath and was silent for the longest time, just staring out of the window onto the snow covered lawns around the hospital. Gibbs was patient and merely waited.

"It's really him?"

"You can see him if you want to."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Sam Price said numbly, "Oh God," The man rubbed his eyes, "I can't believe he's gone. I mean there was always a chance, with him following me to Afghanistan and even before that. But murder?"

"Do you know anyone who would have had a reason to kill your brother?"

"In Afghanistan, hundreds, but here?" Sam Price sighed deeply, "Agent Gibbs, my brother was temperamental and it got him into trouble when he was a teenager, but after joining the army he cleaned up. No fights, no arrests, he had good friends. He was actually looking forward to going back to Kandahar City of all places, cause his friends were all there. Last time we spoke he said he was worried because he couldn't help them while he was here. It frustrated him and- He's my baby brother. I was supposed to take care of him not the other way around. If I hadn't…" He waved angrily at his leg, struggling to collect himself, "I'm sorry, I- It's a lot to take in."

"I understand." Was all Gibbs said, because honestly what more could he say at the moment?

It started snowing again and when Gibbs left the hospital the trees on the parking lot were already painted heavy with white making them almost invisible against the snow filled sky.

...

It was dark outside when Gibbs strode into the office. However he was pleased to see all of his agents working diligently behind their desks.

"You better have found something useful for this case."

"We know who the second victim is." All three answered simultaneously as they scurried to his side. Gibbs worked very hard to suppress the grin that threatened to show. Instead he gazed at Dinozzo who took the hint and pulled the photo of their former John Doe onto the screen.

"His name is Darren Hynes, Boss. He's a Former Marine who was honorable discharged almost two years ago. He lives in Pennsylvania, north of Sunbury."

Kate took over, "He has no immediate family. His wife was Emily Hynes, maiden name Connor, died of cancer in 1992. They had one son, Ethan Hynes. He died in 1995 overdosing on heroin. He was fifteen at the time. I also spoke to Hynes' doctor. It's not looking good, Gibbs."

"Hynes told our witness the name Ethan. I think is safe to guess that we can scrap 'Ethan' off our non-existing suspect list and assume the gunshot wounds messed with Hynes' brain." Tony pitched in. Gibbs silently agreed with that conclusion.

"The bullets?"

"At Abby's."

"Fingerprints?" He pointed at Kate easily deducting how she found out the man's identity. She nodded. He then turned to Dinozzo and waited.

"That Detective already got me the footage of the nearby traffic cams. Around the time of the murder there's one car that leaves the street. I looked up the license plate and voilà, Hynes' car." Tony told him, "Of course there was no clear shot of the person behind the wheel because that would be too easy."

"McGee?" The newest member of his team pulled up some footage.

"These are two text messages send between Price and Hynes. It was Price's phone by the way. Hynes' number was in his contactlist. Yesterday evening Petty Officer Price called Hynes at nine pm for eleven minutes. Two hours later at 11.12 pm Hynes texted the name of the street and a question mark on which Price answered with the following text."

"YOM." Gibbs said out loud and McGee nodded continuing, "As neither Hynes nor Price have any Jewish roots, I'm assuming it's the abbreviation of 'you owe me'-"

"Probie, we're living with you in the twenty first century." Dinozzo interrupted him. Kate tapped Tony's shoulder sympathetically, "He was just checking if you could spell, Tony."

Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Um, I put out a BOLO on Hynes' car." Tony said quickly. "Also talked to the cabby who drove Price there. I found him on one of the earlier tapes. He only exchanged a few words with the Petty Officer, just the address and some small talk about the weather."

"Did you learn anything at the crime scene?"

"Yeah, not to drink before ten am." Tony answered flippantly. He didn't even wince when Gibbs smacked him on the head, clearly anticipating that reaction. He went on as if nothing happened, "Nobody saw or heard a thing. The warehouse was abandoned but that local cop, Rogers, he's keeping his feelers out. Maybe some homeless people saw something. So no, nothing helpful yet. The apartment was as barren as a hotel room. None of the neighbors could really remember talking to him, said he kept to his apartment or went out on odd hours. I brought Price's laptop down to Abby."

"Any ideas on the nature of their relationship?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm not sure. The only possible link I could find so far was that Hynes worked as a volunteer at the Wilkes-Barre hospital. It's the same hospital Price's brother - But you already knew that." Kate stopped midsentence when she saw Gibbs expression. "I have no evidence that either one of them had prolonged contact with each other."

Kate continued, "Hynes served in Afghanistan. None of the Price brothers served at the same base or trained together with Hynes."

"Dig deeper and find that connection. There is a reason why Hynes drove all the way to Baltimore that night. That's our way in."

"How so?"

"Cause it answers the question if the shooting was a coincidence or a set-up." Gibbs summarized.

"Mmm, mugging gone wrong or meeting gone wrong." Tony mused out loud.

...

After the short brief Dinozzo and McGee stayed behind trying to find that connection. Tony was currently writing and summarizing what he found out this morning about Price from the people living in his block. It wasn't much. Also Price's car was safely parked in the communal parking lot. It was a rental, something that didn't surprised Tony.

It looked like Price had few personal belongings and the only reason he was in the country was because he asked and was granted a short term leave to visit his elder brother. An hour or so later Gibbs entered the bullpen again, carrying four coffees, after visiting Abby and the morgue. Kate was right behind him.

Tony glanced at his watch. It was already Thursday he noted.

"The bullets will lead us nowhere if we don't have a gun to match it." Gibbs announced after taking a sip of his coffee. "Laptop's clean."

"Price's brother is still down in the morgue." Kate took a coffee and sat down, "I showed him Hynes' photo. He said that he knew him from around the hospital. Hynes volunteered there two times a week, but he was positive his brother hadn't met Hynes there since he visited at different moments. Of course he couldn't be a hundred percent sure."

"No luck with the BOLO so far, Boss." Dinozzo added. Gibbs rose again and marched to the board where the pictures of both men stared back. He stood there just thinking, going over all the facts they had so far which wasn't much. And that was it.

He should have focused on what they didn't have: Hynes' phone, wallet and car were missing.

"Petty Officer Price wasn't the target. Hynes was." He suddenly announced and waited for his three agents to scramble to his side.

"Target? I thought this was a mugging gone wrong?" McGee raised first.

"Possibly", Gibbs argued, "Look at the gunshot wounds."

"Price was shot in the neck." Kate read the coroner's report, "The bullet _nicked_ the artery and he bled to death in under a minute. Hynes however gets hit _three_ times in the chest."

"So whoever attacked them was only after Hynes?" Dinozzo summarized as he looked at Gibbs for confirmation.

"It makes sense." Kate acquiesced, "The only reason Price died was because he had bad luck that the bullet happened to graze his neck."

McGee's phone ran and he picked up, "Yeah Abby, he's here. Boss, um Abby says you need to charge your phone." He said hesitantly as Gibbs snatched the offered phone. "Abs. All right, good job."

He handed McGee his phone back, "Abby finished processing the residue left on Price's eyelids and inner pockets. It's heroin."

* * *

 **February 10, 2005**

Tony groaned when he woke up to the smell of coffee. He lifted his head warily just in time to watch how Gibbs opened his drawer to deposit his gun. Then he noticed the cup in front of him.

"Thanks, Boss." He said as a toast taking a grateful gulp. It seemed that Gibbs could remember how he took his coffee from time to time.

"You stayed here." Gibbs stated observing his senior field agent a tad impressed.

"I got into contact with Price's army buddies in Afghanistan. I was lucky to catch them at the base. They left about three hours ago, around two pm local time."

"And?"

"Mostly shock and disbelief, it's a low spirited group that left on mission. They didn't have any clue as to why someone would want to kill Petty Officer Price, let alone who. I dropped Hynes' name. He wasn't familiar."

...

It wasn't that difficult to get in touch with Hynes' former colleague's. Unlike Price most of them were based at home for the moment as was Hynes' last superior officer.

"Agent Gibbs, Agent Todd." Captain Marshall shook their hands from behind his desk and sank back on his chair, "It's not a good sign for NCIS to come knocking on my door. You were rather brief on the phone."

"We're investigating a homicide." Gibbs informed the man, "One of the victims is Darren Hynes, he's still alive at the moment."

"You don't sound optimistic."

"The doctor wasn't." Kate replied swiftly.

"Hynes, Hynes," The captain pondered out loud, "Yes, I remember him, good soldier, good man. I didn't know him personally unfortunately. You'll have to ask the others."

"That's why we're here."

"Oh man, Hynes got shot?" The man before them gasped disbelievingly. He turned around and shouted, "Oi, guys, get over here!" Three men abandoned their truck and walked over.

"What's up, Wilson?" The tallest of the three asked.

"Hynes' been shot."

"No way. Here?" Another exclaimed.

"What can you tell us about him?" Kate informed.

"Loads of stories." Wilson exclaimed, "He knocked up a rich girl at nineteen, married her, got a kid. If that hadn't happened he would have gone to college or something. He was smart enough, always calculating. Other than that he's a nice guy and an awesome dad."

"Did he have any enemies? Or did you notice anything strange about his behavior?"

"Not that I know of and I haven't seen him since Thanksgiving. Ethan was staying at school so I invited him to my place." Kate was about to open her mouth but with one glance Gibbs ordered her to remain silent for now. None of the others noticed this byplay and Wilson continued. "Since he was discharged we only saw him on holidays and only if we were home. Mostly we kept in touch by sending emails."

He was silent for a second, "Look, if you want to talk to someone who'll say shit about Hynes, you should talk to Edwards, not me. He's over there." Wilson pointed towards the other end of the hangar. "Legend has it they've been rubbing each other the wrong way since boot camp."

"If you think of anything else…" Kate handed them their card and hastily followed Gibbs who was already crossing the hangar.

"Who's Edwards?" He ordered the group of men. One hand rose, "Who's asking?"

"NCIS, we want to ask you some question about Darren Hynes." Gibbs told him. Edwards broke away from the group and followed them to a quieter spot.

"What did he do?" The marine asked.

"He got shot." Kate answered and frowned, "Why would you assume he did anything?" Edwards was clearly embarrassed by this question and rubbed the back of his head to stall his answer.

"He was all right," He started hesitantly, "but there was just something I couldn't put my finger on. The guys called me paranoid. It was just… You'll probably laugh at me."

"We won't." Gibbs assured him a tad impatiently, "Now, what was the matter with him?"

"I never found out, I just had this gut feeling that he had something dark inside him. After his wife died it became more apparent but the others told me it was normal. So I never commented on it anymore."

"Can you tell us something that stood out?"

"Can't think of nothing. He was just, I don't know, _too_ unaffected by what happened in Afghanistan. I know the others will say it was just a brave face, but it was something more."

"What can you tell us about his life? You've known him the longest."

"Unfortunately," The man muttered, "After Emily died he asked for some leave so he could take care of his son. I may not have liked the guy personally but he always did put his son first. But when the boy got older they were starting to have some difficulties. Hynes never told me much but I know they had a big falling out when Ethan got into college. He moved all the way to L.A. apparently. I felt kind of sad for the guy since it was during our time in Afghanistan. Hynes never talked about it but I could see it was bothering him. He had a bunch of photo's with him at all times, called them his good luck charms. Truth is, he never had one phone call with his kid and not for lack of trying. He send a bunch of letters and emails."

"Have you ever seen them interact together?"

"Not after Ethan's mom died. The boy clearly blamed Hynes for not being there. I think that was the last drop for him." Edwards rubbed his temple, "I think they made up after he was discharged. Ethan must have realized he almost lost his dad in the attack."

...

On their walk back to the car Kate grilled Gibbs, "Why didn't you let me correct them about Ethan Hynes?"

"The kid's death, Kate, so Hynes was either delusional or lying. My gut tells me he was lying and I want to find out why."

"He probably didn't want them to know his son died due to his drug use. In spite of everyone calling him a 'nice guy', Hynes didn't seem to have any close friends to share his loss with."

"Possible." Gibbs answered not entirely convinced.

The ride back to the office was easy. It had stopped snowing during the night and most roads were cleared already. Halfway on the interstate Kate's cell phone rang and she picked up answering with a curt, "Agent Todd." It was silent for a few seconds. Gibbs could hear the other person speak, but couldn't understand what he or she were saying. Kate's expression saddened and she nodded gravely, "I understand. Let me call you back."

She closed her phone, "Darren Hynes died."

* * *

 **So, what do you think? Hopefully the characters aren't too OOC... Next chapter: Into The Darkroom**


	3. Chapter 2: Into The Darkroom

**Hi everyone! I thought long and hard about where to end this chapter but since it creeped the hell out of me, I decided to be nice. You'll thank me... :) Also, still not beta'ed so sorry for the mistakes...  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So no money is made with this and (luckily) none of these events are true.**

* * *

 **PART ONE: Exposure Time**

 **Chapter 2: Into The Darkroom**

 **February 11, 2005**

The next morning a few minutes after eight Tony entered the bullpen just as Gibbs put down the phone. The weather had taken a turn for the worse again. It wasn't snowing but the temperature had dropped well below thirty degrees once more.

"Anything new, Boss?" He asked as he turned on his computer.

"Locals just found Hynes' car abandoned." Gibbs answered, "They're towing it here."

"I've been thinking." Tony started and Gibbs gave him a look telling him to continue, "Why would Price ever rent an apartment in Baltimore? It's a three hour drive to the hospital his brother is staying in and with the weather this time of year I wouldn't be surprised if it took him five hours to reach there."

Tony went on, "So I called the hospital where a very friendly and helpful lady read the log to me. I could listen to her voice all night…" He trailed off seeing how Gibbs wasn't amused, "Right, the point is that Price visited his brother every three days. So what was he doing the rest of the time?"

Meanwhile Kate and McGee had entered as well and looked at him intrigued. Gibbs broke the silence, "What's your theory?"

"It's just a theory," Tony said carefully emphasizing that word, "but I think that if Price's death was an accident then it was him who set Hynes up. The murderer closed Price's eyes. And then there's the place they got murdered. Locals know to avoid those streets at night if you're not up to something."

"So they were up to something?" McGee summarized out loud. It was such an obvious thing to say that Gibbs didn't blink when Dinozzo shot an elastic band in McGee's direction. The younger man stammered, "I mean it fits. Price did call Hynes first."

"Could be." Gibbs admitted, "But that still leaves us with the question of how they knew each other." At that moment Kate's cell phone rang and she hastily picked up.

"Hynes' body will be transferred to the morgue sometime this afternoon." Kate said as she got off the phone. "Or I could go there now and see if I can speed up the paperwork." She added when she saw Gibbs' expression.

"See that you do." He ordered curtly. "And you two get to Hynes' place." The three agents hurried to pack there things again.

"And bring back something useful." Gibbs called out to their retreating backs.

...

"Hynes lived here?" Tony whistled. He got out of the car and stretched his legs after the four-hour drive. Tim couldn't blame Tony's reaction. This was not the sort of house he pictured Hynes living in. Mansion was a more appropriate word. For one, it was so far above his pay grade it astonished him the IRS hadn't been investigating Hynes for tax evasion.

"What did he do for a living after being discharged?" Tim asked.

"The occasional odd job, nothing permanent."

"Then how could he afford this?"

"Inheritance?" Tony offered.

 _Possibly_ , Tim mused, _the house was old enough_.

It was a brick house completely painted white, three stories high and encircled by a broad porch. A large oak tree cast its shadow on half of the house making it a bit more gloomy to look at. The garden was even bigger, filled with lots of bushes and tall trees on all sides. When they had driven up here they hadn't gotten a good look of the house until they were halfway up the driveway. A half finished construction stood a couple of yards from the house, probably a garden shed Hynes hadn't had time to finish yet. Tim could see a cement mixer beneath some plastic canvas. All along the property line was a iron wrought fence, similar to the gate they had driven through.

Tim peeped through the color glassed windows beside the door, "Door's locked and no one's home."

"The only resident's dead, Probie. What did you expect?" Tony remarked while crouching down on his knees. There was a stone frog and a flower pot right beside the front door. He took a wild guess and put his hand into the frog's opened mouth.

"Aha, I knew it!" He shouted triumphantly while holding up a spare key, "Get out of my way, McGeezer and let the professionals handle this."

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to open a door when you have the key, Tony." Tim sighed exasperated.

"I don't see you with a key." Tony replied with a grin and pushed against the door, "Open Sesame."

They entered a large hallway with a fine set of oaken stairs. The door to the living room was opened and from there sunlight streamed into the hallway.

"So I'll start upstairs, you downstairs? Or do we switch?" Tim asked waiting for directions.

"Downstairs," Tony answered as he put his evidence kit on a side table, "And remember, first person to find the laptop gets to drive back."

...

Abby was bending over in the car when Gibbs entered the evidence locker. "Anything yet, Abs?"

"Right on time," Abby got up and rummaged through some filled containers. She held up a Petri dish with a grin, "I found this on the driver's seat. And I still have to test it to be positive but I'm almost certain it's heroin."

"Anything else?"

"I only had an half hour with the car so far, Gibbs. It takes some time before it reveals all its secrets. Now go and hover around McGee-"

"He's not here." Gibbs interrupted her passionate tirade.

"Or the Director." She went on while shooing him out of the garage.

...

"Got it!" McGee yelled from upstairs. Tony grumbled halfway on the stairs in the basement. That had been his last option. He had searched the living room, a dining area, a study with a small library, a library, a storeroom with a washer and dryer, the kitchen, a smaller dining area which probably functioned as the breakfast corner and finally a room with nothing but cupboards filled with everything someone would need to survive a nuclear winter. And McGee still got to the laptop first…

With a last glance at the dull and extremely tidy basement – Hynes must have been an avid if somewhat neurotic hobbyist if the amount of plugs, nails, wires, and other hardware was any indication – Tony ran back upstairs. They had been here for almost two hours. Time to get back to Headquarters before Gibbs evolved into a fire breathing specimen.

...

Tim was running down Price's contact list. He got an answer every now and then which led to some awkward questions. Most numbers weren't answered, not that he wasn't surprised. The phone was old and Price didn't seem the type to update his contact list often. The numbers just accumulated over the years. He was almost halfway the alphabet – dialing a Lynch C.'s number without any result – and it had taken him hours to get there.

Tony was sifting through the case file again trying to figure out what they might have missed. The lack of suspects was taking its toll on the team's morale. The idea of a random mugging seemed more and more viable with every passing hour. But all of them knew it was more than a random shooting. Evidence pointed to that at least. Kate had come back from the hospital escorting Darren Hynes' to the morgue. She was currently helping Abby in the evidence locker. Hopefully they'll find some conclusive evidence. They had Hynes' laptop now. His phone however was still missing.

"Dinozzo," Gibbs suddenly said, "what did that local cop tell you about those warehouses?"

"Nothing much, just that homeless people sought shelter there from time to time. And that the police had made a couple of arrests in the past years around the area bringing in drug dealers and addicts."

"What type of drugs?"

"I'm not sure." Tony answered, "But I can find out." Gibbs nodded his approval and stared at the file in front of him for a while. Tony cleared his throat, "Boss, you think it's drugs related?"

...

"Heroin." Dinozzo stated and put the phone back down. He just had a long conversation with Rogers who had been very helpful. They had ended their talk with reciprocal promises of keeping each other posted.

"Wait, didn't Hynes' son die from an overdose of heroin?" Kate raised remembering Hynes' personal file. She and Tim were standing in front of the monitors.

"Yes, it's probably a coincidence." Tim said although it was getting a bit to conspicuous. Abby had identified heroin as well. It had been on Price's body and most recently she also found it in Hynes' car.

"Could be, but I'm hearing it too often lately." Gibbs agreed, "Pull up the case files of those arrests and get a list of people who're involved with the drug in and around Baltimore: dealers, addicts, everyone."

"If it's drugs that does support the theory of a mugging gone wrong." Tony thought out loud and strolled over to the other two, "An addict in need of a fix bumps into two seemingly well off men in a dark corner of Baltimore city." He recounted using his best film noir accent, "He demands money but their pride wouldn't stand for it and so the night turns deadly. Bam, bam, bam!"

"Seriously Tony, we're not twelve and sitting around a campfire." Kate snapped as Tony stepped back with a wide grin.

"You're just annoyed because you jumped. Consider it practice." He replied, "The probie got it."

Before one of them had a chance to go on, Gibbs whistled catching their attention again by merely stating, "Case files."

As they sat down behind their respective desk Tony muttered just loud enough for Kate to hear, "Bet you looked hot in a scouts uniform."

She glowered at him through her eyelashes.

...

It was late when Gibbs made it back down to the lab. He send the rest of the team home since they were only coming up with lists and nothing to link it with.

"Anything, Abs?"

Abby sighed as she walked back to her screen and showed him her latest find. A dotted fingerprint was being matched against the database, "I pulled three partials fingerprints from the car that don't match Hynes. So far, there's been no hit and honestly the best one of three is pretty smudged already. So get me a suspect, Gibbs."

"All of Hynes' current and past coworkers have an alibi. And as far as we know he was more or less on good terms with all of them. Price has a more turbulent past, but again all of them have alibi's." Gibbs had to dissapoint her.

"And you already ruled him out as the prime target." Abby said.

"Exactly."

"Then get me more information, Gibbs!"

"The laptop, Abs."

"You can't hurry science, Gibbs, but for you I'll try." She smiled sweetly.

* * *

 **February 12, 2005**

It's was extremely early - or late depending on your point of view - when Gibbs drove back to Headquarters. He'd been home for less than four hours but for some reason this case was gnawing at him leaving him restless. Not even sanding down his boat steadied him. They were missing something important, something _vital_. It was as if they needed to turn over a stone and watch the decay squirm beneath it. Their missing connection might be that metaphorical stone or it might be something else. Point was, his gut was telling him there was something more going on.

Suddenly his phone rang.

"Gibbs." He answered curtly.

"I have found something. Can you get here?" Abby's voice made him press on the gas pedal immediately.

"I'm ten minutes out. Are you all right?" He asked picking up on Abby's worried tone of voice.

"I'm not sure, just hurry please." Abby pleaded and broke the connection. Three minutes later Gibbs skidded into the parking lot and hurried through security. He called the rest of his team on his way down the lab.

"What is it, Abs?" He asked. She shot him a grim look, "It's something really hinky but I don't know what it is yet. Well, I think I know what it is but I hope I might be wrong." Abby amended and turned to her computer, "I looked at Hynes' hard drive and his browsing history. Aside for spending too much time on online scrabble he has hundreds of family photo's." She pointed her cursor on one of the maps and a dozen pictures appeared.

"That's hardly unusual."

"McGee told me Hynes' son died when he was fifteen. That was in 1995. So either McGee has faulty information or the son isn't dead." She clicked again and a different set of photographs appeared. They were all dated in the lower right corner. And all of them were dated after 1995.

The warning bells were going off in Gibbs' mind while Abby babbled on, "So I did some digging just to double check. And I was right, Ethan Hynes died after overdosing on heroin." Abby pulled up the coroner's report where the cause of death was highlighted, "Actually the ME stated that he wasn't sure if it was an accidental overdose since the toxicology test showed..." She trailed off for a second, "Point is, the boy's dead so-"

"Who is the young man in the photographs?" Gibbs finished her unspoken question.

"Exactly. First I thought it might be a nephew, but the man has no other family besides a long dead brother. And… and this is where it gets very creepy. Look closely at these two pictures." Both photographs were presumably taking around Christmas because there was a fully decorated tree on the background. She enlarged the two photo's zooming in on the teenager's face. They looked similar: same dark hair, same green eyes but…

"There not the same." Gibbs said out loud.

"And a point goes to Gibbs. I've crosschecked thirty photographs so far and while all of them look very much alike, some facial features that should match don't, which is weird because no matter how much the human face changes over time from infant to adult there's always a pattern. That's why pictures of missing kids get aged so realistically which means-"

"Abs, how many kids?" He interrupted her rant.

"Three so far. Please tell me this isn't what I think it is." Abby pleaded, but Gibbs expression told her everything she needed to know. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Group them and find out who they are." And with that he hurried back to the bullpen.

...

"Tony, with me." He ordered with that tone of voice so Tony just put his jacket back on without questioning the reason. He knew his boss' moods well by now. "Kate, get down to Abs. And try McGee again, he wasn't picking up his phone." Gibbs turned around and headed back to the elevator. Just before the doors closed he was joined by his two agents.

"Gibbs, what's going on?" Kate asked concerned as she pulled out her phone.

"Hynes has pictures of him and his son as one happy little family." Gibbs grumbled as he pressed the button for a second time to make the doors close faster.

"That's hardly suspicious-" She started but was rudely interrupted, "Years after the kid died, Kate." Gibbs stated.

"Oh my God." Kate gasped bringing her hand to her mouth.

...

"Kate." Abby glanced briefly over her shoulder before focusing back on the screens. Kate put a Caf Pow down next to her on the desk, "Gibbs' behavior suggested you might need one of these."

"Thanks." Abby took a sip while her fingers remained ghosting over the key board.

"These are the pictures?" Kate asked. Hynes and the teenager were sitting side by side on a bright colored couch. The older man's arm was around the skinny teenager and he smiled happily into the lens.

Abby nodded, "It's only the two of them. There's never someone else on the background."

"He isn't smiling." Kate remarked when Abby showed her another set of photographs, "On none of these photo's does he smile, just stares at the camera with sad eyes."

...

Tony was well aware of how long it took to get to Hynes' house. Yesterday they did it in four hours. With Gibbs behind the wheel and ignoring traffic lights as if they were mere decorations, they would reach it in two and a half hours at the most.

Halfway there the boss' phone suddenly rang, "Gibbs."

"Boss, you shouldn't be driving and calling." Tony said gripping the dashboard a bit panicked as they swerved onto another lane. He got a head slap for his effort.

"What have you got for us, Kate?" Gibbs asked his eyes focused on the road. He put his phone on speaker and threw it in Dinozzo's direction. Tony caught it easily and held it between the two of them.

"Lance Parker went missing in 1996. We think he's the first." Kate read off the computer screen, "He was fifteen at the time and had run away from home. The police have reconstructed a pretty clear picture of his whereabouts until he reached New York. From there all traces stopped. Max Hopper went missing sometime in 1997, sixteen at the time. He was a foster kid and it took some time for the authorities to discover he'd gone missing. They think he was in New York when he vanished."

"They _think_?" Tony muttered angrily.

"Alex Turner went missing in 1999. He was nineteen at the time. He didn't live with his parents anymore. He had a drug problem and they had tried to get him into rehab. After an argument he left for Baltimore living with some fellow addicts before he too dropped off the radar."

"Let me guess, heroin."

"Spot on, Gibbs." Abby answered. She clicked and another missing person's flyer appeared on the big screen. Not that Gibbs or Tony could see, but both Abby and Kate were still stumped with the similarities between the kids or technically young men.

Abby continued, "There's also Camden Holland. You might recall that case, it was all across the news a few years back. Camden was a college student who went missing after a party in 2001. The police always assumed he was drunk and fell into the nearby river. In the following months the dean restricted a lot of parties at the demand of public opinion. There's still a yearly campaign to raise the awareness of the effects of alcohol. He was 21 years old."

"Gibbs, his son would have been twenty-five this year." Kate raised worriedly, "If he kept this MO up, that's nine missing persons. We've identified four of them so far."

"He was deployed overseas for more than a year." Tony tried to lessen their horror.

"But he got leave as well." Kate countered morosely, "McGee found out he was back in the States two times for less than a month after he got deployed. One of those times he was here in April. We think that's the time frame for when he kidnaps them. Ethan died in April and both Camden Holland and Alex Turner went missing in that month. We're not sure about the other two though."

"I've put most of the pictures into the right order and while the first photo of each of the young men appears around the end of April or May, the last one's always taken the fourth of April. It's also always dated. That's the day before Ethan's death. It's February now, Boss."

"His last victim might still be alive." Tony concluded and looked back at Gibbs. The man just pressed the gas pedal in further.

"You really think so Abby?" Kate asked after they disconnected the line. The pictures of the missing teens stared down on them. During the reorganization of the photographs both women had noticed the same thing. After Christmas the health of Hynes' 'surrogate' son diminished with each snapshot in time.

"I know it's been three days since Hynes got shot, but I have to hope, Kate." Abby sighed, "They all look so sad. It's too late for most of them, but maybe we can save one." She clicked open another file to skim the next group of photo's. If only she had started on the laptop earlier… Abby knew it wasn't helpful to beat herself up over this. She couldn't change the outcome anymore.

...

"This case is really creeping me out, Boss." Tony admitted after he opened the iron gate and hopped back into the car, "McGee and I searched the house yesterday, I can't believe we missed this! At least now we know what we're looking for." The house looked positively depressing now with the sun hidden behind heavy grey clouds and the shadow of the oak tree darkening it even more. It wouldn't surprise Tony if the forecasts were correct this time. They predicted more snow.

Gibbs didn't bother with a key. He just kicked the door open and switched on the light, "You and McGee searched upstairs and downstairs?"

"Yeah, but I merely glanced at the basement because that's when McGee found the laptop." Tony confessed angry with himself. He should have searched the basement more thoroughly.

Gibbs opened the single bolt that locked the door leading to the basement. It was cold here, he noted as they descended the stairs, much colder than in the rest of the house. At first glance it was a completely normal basement. Everything was perfectly in place though and while that may not be that odd, Gibbs noticed the absent of dust on the shelves lining the room. There was one other door there and Gibbs carefully opened it. It was a dark room.

There were a dozen photographs hanging from the ceiling. A professional looking camera was lying on a table next to white plastic trays used to immerse the paper and fixate the picture before hanging them up to dry. The darkroom was as tidy as the rest of the basement.

"You think he kept them here?" Tony asked after they looked around the darkroom, "We haven't searched the property yet. It's quite large and there's a half finished shed next to the house."

"He's here. We're overlooking something." Gibbs answered and walked back into the main room in the basement. He scrutinized the walls with such a glare as if they had personally offended him and his team, "This basement doesn't cover the whole house."

"It doesn't." Tony agreed, "Not even half of it."

"So the rest would be behind this wall." Gibbs said and pointed to a wall covered in hardware tools. Every hammer, screwdriver, pliers, socket wrench and hex key was perfectly aligned in horizontal rows. All of them except for one.

"Got it." Gibbs said more to himself than to Dinozzo and took a couple of steps closer. One screwdriver was a bit further to the right than the others. Tony joined him, "It's a bolt." He exclaimed just when Gibbs slid it to a side. Now it fitted with the rest of the orderly tools.

Gibbs pushed against the wall. There were no skid marks on the floor so it was evident that the door opened to the inside. It was heavy, probably too heavy for a lanky teenager to move, but the hidden hinges were well oiled and the door opened without making a sound.

There was a narrow short corridor with another door at the end. Tony had reached for his flash light but Gibbs just flicked on the switch. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling. Gibbs traced his hand along the door post feeling the cold concrete. This wasn't just a corridor. These were walls, thick walls.

"This reminds me of some Cold War movies, Boss." Tony observed coming to the same conclusion, "It's a bunker. A modified one in fact because these doors are much too big. Actually this all fits perfectly in every decent spy movie." He said as he tapped the second door's lock. It was a combination lock. "What do you think? Will it blow up after the third try?" Tony asked. His tone of voice sounded jokingly but his wry expression didn't match up.

"Hynes didn't have any experience with handling explosions." Gibbs said remembering no such thing from the man's personal file. Tony hoped he was correct, "It seems like a simple four digit combination. Still, that are 10 000 possible combinations."

"We don't have time for this." Gibbs entered 0405, the day of Ethan's death, and pushed on the star symbol for confirmation. There was no click. He thought for a second, "What was Ethan's day of birth?"

"I'll call McGee. He'll know." Tony said as he held up his mobile, "Hold on a second, I don't have a signal here." He ran out of the door and up the stairs. Gibbs fought the urge to kick the door down.

"McGee, when was Ethan born?" Tony asked immediately when he was standing back in the hallway. Back at the office Tim pulled up the correct file and scrolled down quickly. Normally he would have asked for the reason, but he could heard the urgency in Tony's voice. Time was of the essence.

"19 January 1980."

"Thanks."

"Good luck." Tim managed to say before Tony snapped his phone shut.

"Try zero-one-one-nine." He yelled as he descended the stairs again. Gibbs pressed on the star once more and the door clicked open. There was another corridor and as he entered the light turned on automatically. There were two doors and both had several bolts on them. He opened the left one first.

The room was dark, damp and oozed of wrongness. Gibbs saw that the light switch was in the hallway and turned it on.

"Boss?" Tony asked behind him, but Gibbs wasn't listening. At the far side of the room huddled underneath a torn suit jacket was a person. He was lying on his side facing away from the door.

"Oh God…" Tony muttered and paused in the doorway. He glanced around the tiny room. It was barren. There were chains hanging on various heights all along the concrete walls and one chain was fastened to the shackle around the victim's bare ankle.

Gibbs crouched down and carefully turned the young man on his back. He carefully pressed two fingers against the carotid artery - mindful of the bruises along the kid's neck - and waited. It took a couple of seconds before he felt a weak pulse.

"Call an ambulance." Gibbs ordered as Tony dashed out of the room once more, "Now! And tell them to hurry!"

He turned his attention back to the kid. Gibbs knew the young man should be around twenty four years old, but at the moment he looked years younger, pale as a ghost and emaciated. There was a light stubble on the man's chin and hollowed cheeks casting an even darker shadow across the man's face. Gibbs frowned at the young man's attire. He was wearing a suit, but no shoes or socks. A red colored tie was wrapped around his right hand and a piece of ripped sleeve from his dress shirt around the other. Also his feet were wrapped up in cloth. _Smart_ , he thought. Just then Gibbs noticed the young man's eyes were fluttering open.

"Can you hear me?" He asked hopeful and gently tapped the young man's cheek. It was ice cold to the touch. Suddenly two bright green eyes blinked up at him. The young man closed them again and his face winced in pain.

"Open your eyes again, kid." Gibbs half ordered, half pleaded. "You're going to be all right. Darren Hynes is dead." That elicited a reaction. The eyes flew open again and were now filled with anger and defiance.

"Good, now stay awake. I'm Special Agent Gibbs, me and my team are getting you out of here." He said softly but clearly and asked, "Can you tell me your name?"

He half expected the kid to answer 'Ethan', not because he truly believed that Hynes' son might be alive, but he could perfectly imagine Hynes brainwashing these boys until they didn't dare to argue anymore. He shouldn't have worried.

"Harry." One word, spoken so softly that Gibbs almost missed the hoarse voice, but the young man glared up at him as if he was daring Gibbs to refute it. It made Gibbs smile despite or rather because of the circumstances.

"You have the spirit of a soldier, Harry. Never lose it." He said and began to tell the kid about NCIS. He was interrupted when Tony burst back into the room. A quick glance at Harry's face at the interruption told Gibbs that Harry was listening to every word he had been saying. It was another promising sign.

"They're sending a chopper. It has started snowing again. All the roads are closing up." Tony said and dropped a heap of blankets onto the floor. Gibbs grabbed one impressed with Tony's quick thinking and draped it across Harry's shoulders.

"He's awake." Tony nearly shouted almost jumping back in surprise. He hadn't expected that.

"Don't mind him," Gibbs told the kid, "That's my Senior Agent, Tony Dinozzo. He's far more competent than he looks most of the time. Dinozzo, meet Harry."

"Um, hi Harry." Tony said hesitantly and grabbed a blanket as well which he bundled around the kid's bare feet. "Boss, what are you doing?" He whispered confused.

"Regaling him with stories. He needs to stay awake." Gibbs merely answered. "Any movie fun facts you want to share?"

* * *

 **Not really as evil as a cliffhanger could be, right? Next chapter: Fixer  
**


	4. Chapter 3: Fixer

**Hi there! Thank you for your response, it's highly appreciated!**

 **A/N: Gibbs is probably OOC here, although he has had his softer moments on the show… It's a toss-up. Also I have no knowledge of medical treatments except for what I find on the internet. So just play along :)**

 **For those wondering about magic; Part One is completely written from NCIS POV but maybe some of us Muggles can spot the clues in this chapter and the next. Have fun!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So no money is made with this and (luckily) none of these events are true.**

* * *

 **PART ONE: Exposure Time**

 **Chapter 3: Fixer**

 **February 12, 2005**

Tony rubbed his arms warm as he waited on the street for the helicopter to arrive. Gibbs had thrown him out after some less than appropriate trivia. It wasn't his fault that he could only think of movies involving serial killers and dark cells. So Gibbs took over again and told Harry about some previous cases like when they got on board Air Force One and how that led to Kate joining the team. Or when they proved Ernest Yost innocence.

For some reason Harry found the cases much more interesting to listen to than Tony's vast knowledge of films. It was not as if the kid told them, but his eyes were very expressive. Tony assumed it hurt too much to talk.

The sound of whirring blades announced the chopper's arrival and Tony took a few steps back so he was standing safely on the driveway. The street was thankfully wide enough for it to land. Two paramedics jumped out and removed the stretcher.

"Agent Dinozzo?" The first one to reach him asked. He was the oldest of the two – a little grey at the edges and an accent that wouldn't be displaced behind the bar of an Irish pub – and held out his hand, "I'm Reilly, this is my colleague Ellis." He pointed at the younger black man. Tony shook both their hands and led them to the house. On the way he rapidly filled them in about how they found Harry. Both paramedics looked at each other grimly.

…

Gibbs sat next to Harry for what felt like hours. The kid – he was entitled to call Harry that since he was decades older – was avidly listening to every word he was saying. He wasn't used to talk for that long on one end. It felt a bit like telling a bedtime story to a child, but instead of trying to get them to sleep, Gibbs tried to keep Harry awake.

He told him short stories about everyone on his team. About Tony, his Senior Agent who despite being an idiot at times, cracking inappropriate jokes and keeping McGee on his toes, had his moments where he showed remarkable insight and leadership. About Kate, who was the heart of the team in more ways than one, showing compassion and courage when needed. About Tim, the youngest member of the team who was as brilliant with technology as he was insecure about his other skills. About Abby, a goth wrapped up in a lab coat, who had as many quirky habits as she had tattoos. About Ducky, steadfast and calm with enough stories to tell to fill a dozen of lifetimes.

During the recounting Gibbs' hand had found its way to Harry's cloth covered palm. It was such a natural thing to do, giving some comfort with that small gesture, that Gibbs wasn't even aware he was doing it.

…

Reilly and Ellis followed Agent Dinozzo down the stairs and through another set of doors.

"Boss, the paramedics are here." The agent announced popping his head into the doorway. Thankfully he stayed in the hallway. The cell was crowded already. Reilly never paid that much attention to the houses he was called to, but he was sure he would never forget this one. The tall proud white house, the chilly basement, the secret door and then this.

In fact it was a shame that Ellis had been on shift today. The kid was more than capable of doing his job and was a skillful paramedic albeit inexperienced. You prepare yourself for horrible car accidents, burn victims and so on. In their line of work they would see a lot of terrible things, but this… This was a whole different level of horridness. It was even making Reilly's veteran skin crawl.

…

Gibbs made a move to get up to give the paramedics some space to work and to talk with Dinozzo, but a sudden strong grip around his hand stopped him. The action was accompanied with a sharp intake of breath and a whimpered sound of protest. Gibbs looked back down at Harry who was starting to panic.

"Harry, these are paramedics. They'll take you to the hospital." Gibbs tried to reason with the kid. The grip on his hand slackened but he knew it wasn't because Harry was reassured. On the contrary, Harry continued to look at him wide-eyed with fear.

Behind Gibbs back the two paramedics exchanged some glances and then Reilly said, "Stay, we can work around you."

"Sure?" Gibbs asked while he crouched back down again.

"Positive, it's best if he stays as calm and comfortable as possible. At the moment that's you, Agent Gibbs. I hope you have more things to tell because he needs to stay awake."

"Harry," Reilly addressed the dark haired kid and waited for the young man's eyes to find his, "My name's Reilly and this is Ellis. Agent Gibbs is staying right by your side, so don't worry about that. We just need him to step aside so we can lift you upon the stretcher, but he'll stay. All right?"

The young man nodded. It was almost imperceptibly, but it brought forward a collective sigh among those standing in the basement. While Reilly and Ellis quickly checked Harry over so they wouldn't miss breaks and then carefully moved him onto the stretcher, Gibbs ordered Tony to get something to cut the chain with.

"Just another moment Harry and we'll be out of here." Gibbs said and took Harry's hand in between his again. Tony was back in no time with an impressive wire cutter and a minute later all five of them exited the hidden bunker. Reilly had opted not to use a neck brace after seeing the bruises on the kid's neck, but they couldn't not fasten the straps.

Ellis saw the same dilemma when they reached the stairs, "Agent Gibbs, could you?" He nudged his head in the direction of the safety straps.

"This is to keep you in place, Harry." Gibbs said and carefully loosened his hand and fastened the first set of straps with a click, "Just like a seatbelt, nothing more."

When Gibbs spotted the helicopter he squeezed the young man's hand reassuringly and asked, "Do you like flying, Harry?"

He was sure Harry's green eyes brightened for a second.

…

As the helicopter left Tony trudged back inside. It was silent now as the falling snow muffled the sound of nearby traffic. It was quickly covering the driveway again and the sharp wind blew it across the lawn making the snow pile up against the house and that half-finished construction. With Gibbs away organizing the crime scene fell to him.

Tony reached for his cell phone, "Kate, we found him. He's alive. Gibbs went with him to the hospital. No, I don't know. I need you and McGee here. I'll-"

He paused his eyes widening in surprise, "You're already on your way." Tony stated.

"Fine, see you in an hour then and try not to get lost." He said and then added just for the fun of it, "Little Timmy might have been a boy scout once but he's pants at giving directions."

After snapping his phone shut his smile, caused by his colleagues' protestations, slowly faded. Tony sighed and looked back at the huge white house. Then he called the local police and quickly informed them about the situation.

…

The house was even more bleak now and Tony flipped the collar of his jacket up just so his neck wasn't left unprotected to the cold. While he knew that the house was empty it didn't feel less threatening. The police wouldn't arrive immediately, plenty of time to satisfy his curiosity. He went over to the car and grabbed the photo camera. There was still a second room to explore.

Watching Gibbs with their young victim was something of a surprise, Tony mused as he went back in. He knew that behind his boss' hardy exterior the marine had a caring soul. It came to the surface every time they dealt with kids on their cases. That the boss showed it now… Well, Tony just hoped that Harry would be all right.

As he passed the hidden door again his eye caught something they had missed before. There were strange markings carved in a thick band all along the concrete wall which went over his head and under his feet as if they were marking some kind of boundary. Tony peered closer but it wasn't written in any alphabet he knew. He snapped some pictures from both sides, the ceiling and the floor.

The second room was what he expected it to be. Nonetheless it still came as a shock. It was just like the case with the missing women. It was a room and it wouldn't surprise Tony – quite the contrary actually – that this room was an exact replica of Ethan's room upstairs.

…

"Agent Dinozzo?" Someone called from the far side of the basement, "You in there?"

"Over here." Tony said as he stepped back into the narrow hallway between the two cells. A local cop was standing in the hidden doorway looking overtly relieved.

"Didn't you hear me? I've been shouting for the past five minutes." The man asked a tad irritated as he glanced around nervously. Tony frowned looking up and down the narrow corridor, "That's odd. The doors are wide open."

He decided to ignore this strange little occurrence and focus on more pressing matters, "With how many are you here?" He asked as he followed the local policeman back upstairs.

"At the moment it's just me and my partner though more are on the way. Captain said it was urgent."

"Urgent isn't the word I would use." Tony replied, "My team has found solid evidence that Darren Hynes hid at least four other young men on his property."

"Alive?"

"I'm afraid not."

…

When the helicopter landed on the helipad it caused the snow to whirl up even more. As Ellis opened the door Gibbs raised his hand to block the snow in an attempt to spot the entrance. It didn't help much.

Bending over and fighting against the piercing wind the three men quickly made their way to the automatic doors, stretcher in between them. When the doors shut Gibbs nearly sighed in relief. There were already two nurses and a doctor waiting.

As they hurried to the ER, leaving Reilly and Ellis behind, Gibbs gave the doctor a clipped version of the events while still keeping a hold on Harry's hand. The young man was clearly overwhelmed by the light and noises from the busy hospital and was fading fast. Both agent and doctor shared worried glances.

Before Gibbs knew it they had arrived to the point where he couldn't pass.

"Harry? Harry?" He gently yet forcefully shook the young man's shoulder. Green eyes blinked open again. Gibbs bend down a bit and said clearly, "Hold on, you hear me."

The nod that followed immediately was almost imperceptible, but unnecessary as Harry also whispered, "Thank you."

The grip on Gibbs' hand loosened as they passed through the doors leaving him standing alone. He stared at the semitransparent barrier for a moment longer before reaching for his phone.

…

There were times when Tony knew he was being obnoxious; when he annoyed Kate and bugged McGee until they teamed up against him. But he would have never lasted this long with Gibbs as his boss if he couldn't work like a professional if he needed to. This was such a time, Tony mused as he coordinated with the LEO's to set up a temporary HQ near the house. The local police managed to conjure up two solid tents and had them set up in record time.

The first was up just as the rest of the team arrived. They would need to work quickly if they wanted to search the grounds before a fresh layer of snow covered them even more. McGee was currently in one of the tents setting up some computers and screens making sure Abby wouldn't miss a thing from the lab. And Kate, well Tony was heading back down to the basement to see how she was managing the sketches.

…

"Kate-" He started seeing her standing in the middle of the now empty cell.

"Tony, I swear if your next sentence starts with the words 'this reminds me of this movie' I'll slap you." She interrupted before he could utter another word.

"I wasn't. Are you all right?" He asked eyeing her determined look with some concern.

"I'm a profiler and an agent. I'm used to come across all sort of bastards during our cases. Doesn't mean I can't still be shocked." She said as she motioned across the room, "I'm almost done sketching. How's it going upstairs?" Kate asked.

"Computers are set up and I just got off the phone with Gibbs. He's staying at the hospital for now. We have to call if we find anything relevant." Tony filled her in, "I'm going to see if there are any neighbors at home. You want to come?"

"In a minute."

"I'll get the caffeine flowing while I wait." He said trying to sound lighthearted. He was almost out of the cell when Kate's next words stopped him dead in his tracks, "I felt sorry for him."

Kate glanced over her shoulder and looked at Tony, "When I was in the hospital to get the Hynes' fingerprints I hoped we would be able to find out who he was." She explained, "So we could contact his family and he wouldn't need to die alone."

"Then we discover that this man," She spat out that last word, "has been responsible for no less than five murders so far."

"Five?" Tony repeated stunned. He suspected the number wouldn't stop at four, but it was still hard to hear it confirmed.

"Abby identified yet another victim." Kate said with a sigh and went on, "And it makes me wonder…" She left the rest unsaid but Tony could sense where it was going. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

"It's never wrong to show empathy, Kate. It's why you're good at your job."

…

While the local police kept searching the grounds around the house the three NCIS agents approached the yellow tape. Already there was a small crowd gathered and Tony estimated that within the hour at least one television station would park its van out here.

"Can I have your attention, please?" Tony called out, "Is any of you a neighbor or friend of Darren Hynes?"

"Anyone?" He asked again when he got no other reaction than some furtive glances amongst the bystanders. Kate leaned in closer and whispered, "The women in the blue parka jacket."

Tony nodded and smiled reassuringly as he stepped closer, "Ma'am, my name is Special Agent Dinozzo. Could we ask you some questions?"

…

Ten minutes later all three of them and Rachel Fields, the next door neighbor who insisted that they call her by her first name, were seated around the woman's kitchen table. From his spot Tim could just see the top of Hynes' house through the window. The rest of the view was obscured by rows of conifers.

"How well did you know Darren Hynes?" Tony asked after taking a sip of the herbal tea he had been offered. It missed some sugar.

"Not that well," Rachel told them. She appeared to be in her late forties and obviously single if the formless woolen sweater was any indication. "I knew Emily though, his wife, we went to the same primary school." Her smile was filled with nostalgia.

"We sadly lost contact. You know how it goes; she went away to some fancy boarding school while I went to the local one. Darren well, he was two years above me and into sports, so we never ever mingled. After her father's death Emily and Darren moved into the old house. But since I moved away by then I only saw them a handful of times to be honest and never really had a conversation with the man."

Rachel went on with her story, "Five years ago my mother's health took a unexpected turn for the worse and I had to come back. Darren helped around the house for a few months. He did that occasionally throughout the years but we never talked about anything serious. But then last April mother spat in his face and called him a murderer. He accepted my apologies, but said it would be better for my mother's health that he didn't come to the house anymore. I don't think I've seen him since and now he's dead." She sighed sadly.

"She called him a murderer?" Kate asked.

"Yes, why?" The woman asked puzzled.

Kate shared a brief look with her fellow agents before saying, "Hynes most likely killed five young men over the years."

"That's why you're all here?" Rachel exclaimed, "I thought you were looking into his murder. Never mind," She said hurriedly finally processing what Kate had said. She looked around somewhat lost and asked, "Five? He killed five men?"

"For now." Tony said, "We think he's been killing since the death of his son."

"That was ten years ago." She stated aghast.

"We know." Tony admitted grimly, "Did you see or hear anything suspicious over the years?"

"No," Rachel shook her head, "But my mother must have. Do, I mean, did the young men he killed, did they look like his son?" Her stammered question surprised all three agents.

"Yes." Kate said.

"Oh God," Rachel rubbed her temples clearly upset, "Can't believe she was right after all. God, she's never going to let me hear the end of this."

"Rachel, what did your mother see?"

"She has Alzheimer's, Agent Dinozzo." The women explained distraught, "What would you have done in my place? Gone over to Darren's house and asked if he had a recent fight with his long death son because my demented mother saw them scuffle in the garden the other day? Or report her idea to the police?"

…

It took a few minutes for Rachel to calm down enough to lead them to the living room where her mother was watching TV. One glance at the screen was enough for Tony to guess the movie.

"The Sound of Music."

"She can remember the songs." Rachel said a bit sadly clearly indicating that the rest of her mother's memory was quickly fading.

"Mum, there are some people here that want to talk to you. They're agents. They want to ask you some questions about Darren Hynes."

"He's scum." Mrs. Fields stated flatly before gazing back at the television screen.

"Yes, you told me and I believe you now." Rachel said, "Will you talk to the agents?"

"Only if I get to talk to that handsome officer." The older woman said unexpectedly giving them her full attention now.

"Not you, the other one." She added when Tony took a step forwards.

"McGee?" He looked at the younger agent in disbelief who smirked back at him while walking towards Mrs. Fields.

"Not a word, Kate." Tony muttered hearing her snigger besides him.

Tim kneeled down a bit, "Mrs. Fields, you wanted to talk to me?"

"No need to be so formal, Officer. You can call me Elaine." She smiled and patted the seat across of her with her hand offering him a place.

"All right, um, Elaine, can you tell me what you remember about Ethan?" Tim asked, "That day you saw him in the garden?"

…

Tony wasn't sulking. He was just walking back briskly towards the crime scene while Kate and McGee conducted the rest of the interview. He was certainly not sulking not matter what Kate implied. As he ducked through the ever growing crowd in front of Hynes' driveway he saw a local TV crew unloading their equipment.

It was getting dark again, although with the constant falling snow the sun had no chance whatsoever to appear today. Tony estimated that within the hour they would need those big light spots the local police brought to carry on their search.

He walked to the tent rubbing his gloved hands together. The temperature was dropping again fast. This night would probably become the coldest in weeks, Tony mused as he reactivated the computer screens. Just imagining that cold cell was enough to make him shiver.

"Hi Abs," He greeted when the goth appeared on the screen.

"Tony!" She practically yelled, "Are you all right? Kate said you found someone alive and Gibbs is in the hospital."

"Relax, Abby, Gibbs just went to the hospital because Harry asked."

"Harry? The one you found?" Abby questioned and went on after Tony nodded, "Is he going to be all right?"

"I have no idea, I'll try phoning the Boss once I have something to report." Tony said. Just then he heard hurried footsteps and the canvas was pushed aside revealing a breathless policeman.

"Agent Dinozzo, better get your ME here ASAP." He rushed to say, "We found them."

* * *

 **February 13, 2005**

It was almost morning again when one of the attending doctors entered the waiting room. The grey haired agent was slumbering in a plastic chair surrounded by empty coffee cups. He had contemplated heading back to join the rest of his team after Dinozzo phoned hours ago to tell him they were setting up an excavation site. For some reason however his gut was telling him to stay right where he was.

"Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs immediately roused himself and stared at the doctor in front of him. The man seemed to take this as an affirmative answer and quickly started his report.

"He's in bad shape, but he's a fighter. He didn't close his eyes again until we entered the ICU." The doctor told him.

"So he's going to be okay?" Gibbs needed the clarification.

The doctor took time to choose his next words carefully, "He's stable. The fact that he was still alive after all these days is more than promising. That young man is either extremely lucky or extremely stubborn." The doctor said sounding more than a bit impressed. Gibbs thought it was probably a combination of both. The other man continued, "But he's not completely out of the woods yet and it will be a long road to recovery. He's severely malnourished and dehydrated. We also found signs of physical abuse."

"Like the hand shaped bruises around Harry's neck?"

"There were those and we found new scars and some scabbed wounds on his back. Same with his ankles and wrists likely from being manacled for a long time." The doctor went on and now Gibbs really wanted to resurrect Hynes just so he could shoot the bastard himself.

"His ankle was bruised pretty badly and his right wrist was broken a couple of months ago. It didn't heal correctly and once he's on the mend, we'll need to re-break it. Luckily he was aware enough to wrap up his hands and feet against the cold. He most likely saved his fingers and toes from frostbite. Our most urgent concern however were the track marks."

"Heroin." Gibbs didn't need it spelled out for him.

"I'm afraid so. Frankly, it's a miracle that he survived the first 72 hours of withdrawal without any medical assistance in those conditions. We put him on methadone just to be on the safe side."

"Can I see him?"

"I can't see why not." The doctor said and looked down at his clipboard, "He has been moved to room 401. Don't expect him to wake soon though. We're keeping him sedated for the next 24 hours just to be safe. He needs rest and time to heal."

…

The coffee machine in the hallway outside of Harry's room was worse – if that was even possible – than the one down in the waiting area, Gibbs thought sipping the lukewarm liquid anyway. On the upside, the chair was better here. Harry hadn't stirred since the federal agent had entered the room; the steady sound of the heart monitor was the only noise he heard except for the occasional voices and footsteps out in the hallway. Suddenly his phone vibrated.

"Gibbs." He said quietly.

"This is Detective Thompson. I've found you a suspect." The other agent didn't beat around the bush.

"Send him to NCIS Headquarters." Gibbs ordered.

"I'm on a crime scene. Homicide cop, remember?"

"Then get someone else to send him." Gibbs bit back impatiently.

"It's _his_ murder." Detective Thompson clarified. That made the federal agent pause.

"Look, this is too complicated to explain over the phone." The detective went on, "Can you get to Baltimore? I'll text you the address."

"Why do you think he's my suspect?" Gibbs had to ask.

"He had Hynes' wallet and I'm pretty sure I'm standing over the gun that matches your bullets."

"How did he die?"

"Take a wild guess." Detective Thompson said.

"Heroin overdose." Gibbs didn't need to think about it.

There was a short pause and then, "Damn, you're good. Now better get over here before my superiors snatch me of this case and close it. They are under the impression it was bad luck instead of murder."

Gibbs put his phone away and got up with a sigh. With one last look at Harry he left.

…

Procuring a car had been easy; driving to Baltimore without skidding off the road, not so much. Still he made it in record time. The address Detective Thompson send him led Gibbs to a street lined with such decrepit houses that only the fact that they were standing next to each other kept them upright.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS." He flashed his badge as he approached the yellow tape. The policeman pointed him to the stairs which creaked awfully as Gibbs rushed up. Detective Thompson looked exactly like the last time they met although the man appeared even more tired. He was standing in the doorway, out of which he stepped away to let Gibbs enter the small room.

"You made it. Good." He greeted Gibbs and with a wave invited the agent to look around the scene.

On top of a moldy mattress there was a body of a young man, just a kid really. His vacant eyes stared up a the ceiling, needle and tourniquet lying next to the kid's arm which were littered with track marks. There was a sink in the room that seemed unused for ages and a low table which almost collapsed under the weight of all the junk laying on top of it.

Somewhere between the trash Gibbs spotted a gun and a busted up cellphone. The federal agent knew with one look that nothing would be salvaged from that phone. Next to the table a evidence bag was laid down already containing the wallet. From where he was standing the federal agent could see Hynes' driver's license clearly.

"What makes you think it's a murder? Nothing here points to that." Gibbs challenged the detective as he came to his own conclusions.

"Exactly, it's too neat." Thompson said and Gibbs fully agreed with that assessment. While they probably found their killer all further questions met a convenient dead end.

"Who was he?"

"Name's Cody Lynch, nineteen years old according to his driver's license." Thompson said, "He's a local kid. Rogers was able to identify him before we found proof of ID."

Gibbs kneeled down searching the body in front of him for clues. Unfortunately the detective was probably right. His superiors will see the case closed as all loose ends seemed to tie up neatly. Likewise NCIS had no further jurisdiction here. They could do nothing more besides writing a report that the possible murderer of Petty Officer Price had died as well.

"I heard your case got a lot more complicated." Detective Thompson interrupted his musings. Gibbs stood back up, "Already?"

"You know how the rumor mill works and a serial killer? That gets media attention." The man explained and sighed, "I'm glad it isn't just me who thinks this was a bit too convenient. Take your time, Agent Gibbs, but I'm needed back at the precinct."

Just then Gibbs' phone vibrated. He picked up seeing Detective Thompson leave from the corner of his eye. It was Abby.

"Gibbs, where are you? Still at the hospital?" She asked.

"Baltimore, I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Good, I'm trying to find out who Hynes' victims were." Abby launched immediately, "I can distinct seven different young men which corresponds with Ducky's finds. He's exhuming six bodies at the moment. I ran all of them through the missing persons database already as you know it takes a while. But one of them doesn't match with anyone in the database which is odd considering the fact that they all look alike and-"

"Abs." Gibbs interrupted her. He heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the line.

"I even ran him a second time." Abby went on pacing up and down in front of the screens.

"Who haven't you found?" He asked already feeling where this was going.

"The last one, Harry." Abby said and added frustrated, "I found nothing."

"Expand your search then. Try any international database you can think of." Gibbs suggested, "Spread his description and his name."

"Anything you want me to add? There's only so much you can get from a photograph." Abby asked as she started a new search.

"He has an older scar on his forehead, shape of a lightning bolt." Gibbs told her remembering the odd scar clearly.

Abby tilted her head slightly as she examined a photograph with Harry's face from up close, "Huh, I didn't get that from the pictures."

"Ethan Hynes didn't have a scar there, Abs."

…

An half hour later Gibbs drove back to Headquarters. Baltimore was a dead end for now. He took a quick detour to drop off the gun, wallet and cellphone in the lab – Abby still had not luck finding out Harry's last name and next of kin – before heading up to the bullpen. As he entered the main area he saw Tony standing in front of the monitors where pictures of all seven victims of Hynes were lined up.

"Dinozzo." He said by way of a greeting. His Senior Field Agent turned around abruptly, "I thought you were still at the hospital." Tony stated surprised.

"I was but had to make a detour to Baltimore. That detective found our murderer." Gibbs shared noting the other agent's appearance. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who spend the night on caffeine. Gibbs went on, "He's dead as well, heroin overdose."

"Huh, rather convenient." Tony remarked and turned his attention back to the screen.

"You alone?" Gibbs asked as he sat down behind his desk.

"Kate and McGee are still up north. I came back to drop off the first load of evidence to Abby." The younger man told him without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Boss, I think I might have found a connection between Hynes and Petty Officer Price. Look." Tony said after a few minutes. Gibbs turned towards the monitor.

"See what happens when I put Price's picture next to Hynes' victims." Tony said and clicked towards the screen adding the photograph. The row aligned itself and…

 _Well, I'll be damned_ , Gibbs thought honestly stunned. While Owen Price had much shorter hair than the rest of the young men the main features matched scarily: same dark hair, same green eyes...

"His age even fits the profile." Tony continued, "It could be our connection but…" He trailed off and looked back at Gibbs.

"But Price called Hynes for a meeting, not the other way around." The older man finished.

"Exactly" Tony rubbed his forehead, "This case is giving me a headache. There has to be a reason why Price called and why Hynes drove all the way to Baltimore that night."

 _But I doubt we'll find a motive_ , Gibbs thought begrudgingly, _not when all those involved are turning up dead._

…

"What do you have for us, Kate?" Tony said after picking up his phone. "Yeah, the Boss is here. I'll put you both on speaker." The younger agent went on as he stood up and walked over to Gibbs' desk.

"Ducky's almost finished clearing the victims' bodies. Actually transporting them to NCIS might take a while though." Kate said making Gibbs frown. Tony explained what the problem was, "He used cement."

"We talked to all of the neighbors. Most of them were completely ignorant but the next door neighbor, Mrs. Fields-" McGee reported before he was rudely interrupted.

"Don't you mean _Elaine_?" Tony smirked.

"Mrs. Fields," McGee repeated ignoring Tony, "told us that she saw Ethan in the garden. He was running away towards the gate but Hynes was in pursuit and wrestled him to the ground. She said it looked worse than a bar fight. In the end Hynes carried the kid back in."

"When was this?" Gibbs asked.

"Early fall? Mrs. Fields talked about the colors of the leaves." He trailed off.

"So Harry actually got out. Good for him." Tony remarked impressed.

"Sadly not good enough." Kate commented with a sigh.

"Did you talk with her about the spitting incident?" Tony asked recalling what Rachel Fields had told them.

"Yeah, but Mrs. Fields didn't remember why she did that. She did know he deserved it." McGee continued.

In the following silence they all agreed that Hynes deserved much more than being spit upon. As Tony ended the call Gibbs glanced at the nearest clock. If he left within the next twenty minutes he should reach the hospital before the end of visiting hours.

* * *

 **So one more chapter and then Part One will be wrapped up. Next chapter: A Negative**

 **Please leave a review :)**


	5. Chapter 4: A Negative

**A/N: There are some clues hidden in this chapter so keep your eyes and ears open : ) And please play along with the medical and protocol stuff. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So no money is made with this and (luckily) none of these events are true.**

* * *

 **PART ONE: Exposure Time**

 **Chapter 4:** **A Negative**

 **February 13, 2005**

After a quick talk with Doctor Hill , the same one who informed Gibbs of Harry's condition earlier, the federal agent entered the hospital room again. The young man was still unconscious but looked slightly better to Gibbs' relief, he wasn't deadly pale anymore. The doctor was optimistic that they could cut back on the sedatives tomorrow morning. Since Abby found no clue who Harry was, let alone who his next of kin was, the agent was counting on the young man to tell him as soon as he was awake and able.

Preparing himself for another long night holding vigilance, Gibbs eased himself in the bedside chair and leaved through the casefiles he brought. Normally it was a good sign that all the small pieces of the puzzle fell into place, but the agent still had this gut feeling that it wasn't over.

Halfway through the stack Ethan Hynes' autopsy report made Gibbs pause.

Abby had told him that the coroner at the time couldn't conclusively determine if the boy died from an accidental overdose. Apparently the results of the toxicology test had been rather high. And if it wasn't accidental… _Was the son's death Hynes' trigger to start killing or am I looking at Hynes' first victim?_

His phone proved distracting however and he answered curtly, "Gibbs."

"Boss, you need to get back here ASAP. Abby's really upset." Tony said with great urgency, "Some guys in suits are taking all our casefiles, the evidence, everything."

"What?" Gibbs exclaimed as he rose from his seat. Then he noted the late hour and added surprised, "Now?"

"Yeah, but it's weird, right?" Tony raised, "I mean the FBI usually follow office hours when they come to harass us."

Gibbs hurried out the room not even stopping to apologize to the young brunette he almost crashed into while rounding the corner.

…

Tony met him as soon as he exited the elevator, "I tried to stall, Boss, but it's all gone."

His agent trailed off and nudged his head towards the far side of the squad room, "A couple of them are still with the Director."

Without pausing Gibbs strode up the stairs, passed the empty secretary desk and went in without knocking. There were three other men inside besides the Director. Morrow was standing closest to the door and from his stance alone Gibbs deduced that the man had been expecting him.

"Why are the feds stealing my case?" He immediately launched.

The Director sighed almost inaudible before saying, "Agent Gibbs, meet Agent Griffin from the FBI. And these are Agents Robards and Weasley from London."

Agent Griffin wasn't an FBI agent Gibbs had ever encountered. The man was a bit taller than the Director and about the same age although Gibbs didn't know why he assumed that. In contrast to the Director this man had very few grey hairs. He had a very sharp nose though and a pale complexion. If Gibbs had to choose one word to describe this agent he wasn't sure which one he would pick: sinister or compelling.

The other agents were easier to read by comparison especially the ginger one who looked uncomfortable standing there as if he was unused to the suit he wore. Frankly he looked like a kid dressing up for the occasion. The other one, Agent Robarts, just edged further into the background seemingly satisfied with observing the scene.

It was the youngest one however who offered his hand but wisely retracted it after seeing Gibbs' still thunderous expression.

"This is my case." Gibbs practically growled.

"What does NCIS stand for again?" Agent Griffin asked the Director out of the blue. His tone clearly indicated that he was not in the slightest affected by Gibbs' open hostility. Gibbs immediately disliked him on principle.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Morrow replied oddly compliant. Agent Griffin, satisfied with the answer, calmly turned back towards Gibbs, "I was informed that you found the murderer of Petty Officer Price. And since neither the victims nor Darren Hynes were in the Navy or Marine Corps at their time of death and came from different states, the case falls under the jurisdiction of the FBI."

"Well, I think our business here is concluded." The agent continued without pause, "Director Morrow, it was a pleasure working with you." Griffin shook the Director's hand.

"Agent Gibbs, until next time." The FBI agent saluted him and for once Gibbs was unsure if he was being mocked or not.

After the three men left Morrow sat down behind his desk, "Don't look at me like that. If I could have fought the decision I would have." He replied to Gibbs' unuttered accusation reminding his agent of all the times NCIS did get the jurisdiction, "My hands are tied as well. At least they'll give us the credit."

"We did all the work."

"I suggest you and your team go home, take some rest." The Director advised, "The last days were tiresome for all of you."

Still fuming about the case being hijacked Gibbs was ready to stalk out of the office. He paused at the doorway however and asked, "Why were there British agents here?"

Morrow shrugged as he admitted, "Your guess is as good as mine."

…

 _That doesn't look promising_ , Tony thought as he watched Gibbs stalk back into the bullpen. The boss was ignoring him while he paced up and down the area, but Tony knew Gibbs was just trying to vent without snapping at the wrong person. Since he was the only one present, Kate and McGee were still on the road, he much appreciated that.

Suddenly Gibbs stopped pacing and reached for his ringing phone.

"What?" Gibbs snapped. Tony winced, feeling sorry for the unsuspecting person who unfortunately caught Gibbs at a bad time.

"Fornell, you're about three hours too late." Gibbs went on. Tony leaned back in his office chair folding his arms behind his head. _Okay, Fornell probably deserves this._

"How could you have _just_ found out? You're always there when NCIS is involved." The agent was nearly yelling now and restarted his pacing. Fornell must have said something extraordinary however, Tony guessed, because the next time Gibbs spoke the boss sounded more puzzled than pissed, "Special branch?"

A minute later Gibbs ended the phone call with an inaudible grumble and Tony was eager to learn more. He rose from behind his desk and asked, "What did Fornell say?"

The older agent almost sighed. It was not what Fornell said, but what he hadn't known that had both Gibbs and the FBI agent confounded.

"Nothing useful." He answered truthfully and went on avoiding to say more, "Go home, Dinozzo and get some rest."

Gibbs was thinking of doing exactly that. At the very least the agent needed a shower and a change of clothes, "We'll finish what's left of the paperwork when it's light."

"Has Harry woken up yet?" Tony asked as he put his jacket on and logged off.

"Doctors are keeping him sedated for another 12 hours." Gibbs informed him as he strode towards the elevators once more.

"So you'll be going back to the hospital in the morning." The younger man stated knowingly as he trailed behind him.

It was as he told Harry the day before, Gibbs mused, _Tony sure had his moments_.

* * *

 **February 14, 2005**

At the earliest possible time Gibbs, carrying a steaming cup of excellent coffee, rode the elevator up to the fourth floor. He glanced at the women behind the information desk at the beginning of the hall as he walked past her. She was so absorbed with solving a crossword puzzle however that she didn't even look up.

The door to room 401 was open halfway showing the darkness inside. As Gibbs pushed the door further open the hallway lights cast his shadow in the now dimly lit space. He stopped abruptly in the doorway splashing coffee over the brim. The liquid dripped onto the sterile floor but the agent couldn't care less.

The room was empty, the bed made up pristinely and there was no sign of Harry. For a second Gibbs thought of all the possible explanations before hurrying back towards the information desk.

The woman smiled beguilingly, "How can I help you, dear?"

It was only the urgency to locate Harry that prevented Gibbs from snapping at the woman who dared to call him 'dear' as if he was a toddler.

"Where's Harry?" He asked urgently while placing his coffee on the counter.

"Who?" She frowned.

"The young man in room 401." He pointed towards the open door.

The woman shrugged indifferently, "If he's not there he's either released or moved." She looked back at her crossword puzzle.

"He was kept in an artificial coma." Gibbs went on and asked while looking around hoping to spot someone competent, "Where's Dr. Hill?"

"Who?" The woman asked again. Gibbs briefly noticed that one arm of her glasses was askew above her ear before clarifying impatiently, "The attending doctor."

"Check your papers." Gibbs ordered when the nurse kept staring at him with a nonplussed expression as if he was suddenly speaking a foreign language, "You must have a way to keep track of your patients."

Turning her office chair until she faced the computer screen, she clicked a couple of times with the mouse, "Mmm, let me see. Ah, yes the patient in room 401. He's been moved." She explained after some time.

"To where?" Gibbs had to ask when the woman just turned back to her puzzle.

"Mmm?" She looked up seemingly surprised to see him still standing there. Gibbs was this close to losing his patience completely.

"Where was Harry moved to?" He enunciated every word.

The woman glanced back at her computer screen and said apathetically, "Oh, to the morgue."

Whatever Gibbs was expecting it hadn't been that, never that. His throat felt dry and there was a sudden stab in his gut.

"Impossible, he was getting better." He managed to say after a couple of seconds and insisted, "Check again."

"It says here that the patient was moved to the morgue." She said looking back at the screen while adding annoyed, "I don't know what else you expect me to do."

"Where are you going?" She unexpectedly called him out when Gibbs moved towards the elevator, an inch away from strangling the woman out of sheer exasperation.

"The morgue." Gibbs finally snapped.

"He isn't there anymore. Some guys with an accent came to pick the body up." The woman said and for a moment her eyes shone with recognition as if she suddenly remembered more.

"When?" Gibbs asked expectantly.

But the moment was gone and she frowned again, "When what, dear?"

"Never mind, clearly you're unfit to work here." Gibbs growled as he stepped into the elevator aggressively pushing the button to close the doors repeatedly.

"Well, I have never…" He heard her mutter indignantly before the doors shut.

…

Down at the morgue the coroner was equally uncooperative. At least the man seemed aware enough to be embarrassed by the fact that he couldn't provide a sliver of useful information.

"I have the right papers, so someone must have picked him up…" The coroner trailed off hesitantly scratching his chin as he leaved through the papers for the third time. "I don't remember signing off however… although that's my signature."

The man sighed, "I wish I could help you, Agent Gibbs, but right now the only thing I know for sure is that I need a strong cup of coffee and a couple of aspirins."

* * *

 **February 16, 2005**

It was ungodly early when Gibbs heard the familiar cadence of footsteps coming down the basement stairs. Ever since finding out Harry had died the agent had been camping near his boat working on the frame, drinking the occasional jar of bourbon and flipping through the only piece of evidence that was left: the file that he had taken to the hospital.

The papers and photographs were now spread out all over his workbench covering most of his tools and leaving a general mess. He knew it didn't exactly look healthy. Hell, if he ever caught Dinozzo obsessing over a closed case he would set the man straight with a head slap.

However Gibbs couldn't stop thinking about what Fornell had said on the phone, that it had been a special branch within the FBI handling the case. And that screw-up at the hospital just added to it. Using Abby's words: something hinky was going on but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.

He stopped sanding down the frame and looked up just as Tony reached the end of the stairs. One glance at the younger agent's face told Gibbs that Tony had been practicing whatever he was about to say before coming in. So the grey haired man kept silent.

"Boss, it's been two days." Tony started and Gibbs noted slightly amused that it sounded suspiciously like a reprimand, "Kate's worried and you haven't answered any calls from Abby nor those of the Director. That's two rules you're breaking." The younger agent added flippantly, "If you say sorry for sulking I might be forced to have you committed."

Gibbs knew it was meant as a joke – and a bad one at that – but his Senior Field Agent wasn't that good at masking his emotions. Tony was actually concerned about him.

"Dinozzo, what are you doing here?" He asked harshly not because he was being lectured by his own agent but because Tony was right. And that annoyed him.

"Isn't it obvious?" The agent smiled and offered him a new cellphone, "That should take care of Rule 3. McGee made sure it's in full working order. I don't even want to know where you old one ended up this time." As he said that however, Tony did glance around the basement. He grimaced at he saw the state of Gibbs' workbench.

"And," He reached over, neatly put all the papers back into the manila folder and closed it, "Don't forget Rule 11, Boss."

"You okay?" Tony asked and sighed when Gibbs didn't answer, "We can't safe them all. You told me that, remember?"

"Yeah," Gibbs admitted reluctantly. He couldn't explain to Tony why Harry's death burdened him so. Yes, it was unexpected, but wasn't it always so? And yet it was more than that. From the minute he kneeled down next to Harry and looked into those stubborn eyes he felt an instant connection with the young man, a kindred spirit or something similar.

Whatever it was, it didn't matter anymore.

He rubbed the back of his neck to alleviate the tension there and asked, "What have we got?"

"Dead Marine in Shenandoah National Park," Tony said already halfway up the stairs. He paused and asked, "You coming, Boss?"

Gibbs nodded and said absentmindedly as he picked up the manila folder again, "Yeah, just give me a second."

Resisting the itch to look inside again, Gibbs pulled open a random drawer and dunked the file in there. He holstered his gun and hurried up, switching off the lights as he walked out.

 _When the job is done, walk away._

 **The End of Part One.**

 **So… Yeah, I imagine there might be confusion and perhaps even disappointment present after reading this. All I can say is that there's plot and reason. : ) The first chapter of PART TWO will be up soon: Reaping On The Docks.**


	6. Chapter 1: Reaping On The Docks

**A/N: Time jump! This is set after Truth and Consequences, but after that I completely ignore what happened during season 7 and onwards with the exception of Ziva becoming an agent. Just think of it as the Harry Potter Intermezzo :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So no money is made with this and (luckily) none of these events are true.**

* * *

 **PART TWO: Red Soaked Poppies**

 **Chapter 1: Reaping On The Docks**

 **November 2, 2009**

One, two, three pair of headlights shone against the mist as the cars navigated the quay. Their pace was slow but deliberate gliding through the fog seamlessly as if the drivers blindly knew where they were going.

They halted briefly in front of a warehouse where a man got out of the first car and opened the large hangar doors. After the three cars slipped in he closed them again soundlessly. The hangar was filled with construction material but the middle was surprisingly empty with the exception of a steel table. The cars stopped side by side leaving some room between the vehicles and that table.

As everyone got out like a well-oiled machine two bound men were hauled out of different cars. Only one of them was fighting the bulky men who restrained him however. The other one was barely conscious; his feet just dragged behind him across the concrete until they stopped just in front of the table. Meanwhile a well-dressed man walked passed the prisoners humming a cheerful tune and placed a briefcase on the flat surface before him.

"You won't get away with this, Llewellyn." One of the captives hissed through clenched teeth while two others forced him on his knees. The British accent was hard to miss just as the man's rather battered appearance. One eye was almost swollen shut and an ugly looking cut on his cheek was still bleeding sluggishly. He looked considerably healthier than the other one though.

"If that idea gives you comfort, Agent Wilkes, then please hold on to that." Llewellyn, who clearly was in charge, spoke amiably revealing his origins as well. He was a tall thin man with short impeccable brown hair. He wore an expensive, yet inconspicuous grey suit giving him the appearance of an insurance agent or a corporate lawyer. The only notable thing about him was a small red poppy pinned next to his left jacket pocket.

"This gives me no pleasure, but examples have to be made." Llewellyn went on sounding honestly apologetic about the whole situation. He clicked the briefcase open and took out a pair of black leather gloves, "Surely a man in your profession understands that." He reasoned while putting them on ostentatiously.

Wilkes struggled against the hold the two men had on him but it was a feeble attempt. His strength was nearly gone. Meanwhile Llewellyn took a gun out of the briefcase next and leisurely screwed a silencer onto the barrel.

That done Llewellyn, without further ado, went over to the nearly unconscious man and shot him through the head. The men holding him up let the body fall to the ground and hurriedly stepped back mindful of the growing pool of blood.

"Any last words?" Llewellyn asked as he stepped closer aiming at Wilkes' forehead now, "I would have offered your informant the same consideration but he was already done talking."

"Go to hell." Agent Wilkes said stubbornly while looking up at Llewellyn unwavering. His soon-to-be-murderer smiled appreciatively, "Very well, after you."

Outside of the hangar there was no shot to be heard. A mere five minutes later three cars rode back into the fog immediately disappearing from sight.

…

"Wow, McShiner!" Tony called out and whistled admiringly as Tim walked into the bullpen, "What did you do to deserve that?"

"Ha ha, Tony." Tim said moodily and sunk down behind his computer, "It's none of your business."

"Ignore him," Ziva said, who had been watching Tim's entry with as much curiosity as Tony, before asking, "Are you all right, Tim?" Her fellow agent was sporting a pretty impressive black eye that was certainly not there before the weekend.

"Yeah, thanks for asking." Tim said with a shrug turning his attention towards his screen hoping that the matter was closed.

"Hey, I asked!" Tony protested and strolled over to Tim's desk where the other agent was observing his approach with some trepidation and mostly annoyance. Tony rested his elbow on the television screen and whispered conspiratorially, "You know, if you're in trouble, you could always send Ziva after them. She might be retired from the assassins business, but if you ask nicely…"

"Not necessary." Tim blocked him off.

"You sure, Tim? I'm happy to help." Ziva offered as she joined Tony and looked down worriedly at her colleague.

"See!" Tony exclaim enthusiastically, "You can take the ninja out of the cave but you can't take those bat senses out of-" He paused pondering what word he could use. Ziva's expression right now was sort of hard to pinpoint.

"Quit while you're ahead, Dinozzo." Gibbs advised as he suddenly appeared behind his Senior Field Agent.

"Yes, Boss."

"Grab your gear. There are two bodies down at the docks. One of them is a Marine." He went on as he walked into the bullpen, grabbed his bag and strode back out in the direction of the elevator. The three agents shared a brief look before they scrambled to their respective desks grabbing their stuff as well.

"What's with the hurry?" Ziva asked as they rode the elevator down to the garage.

"We weren't the only one who got that call."

"FBI is on its way?" Tony asked and made a face.

"Worse, the press." Gibbs answered stonily and added as he stepped out of the elevator, "McGee, go put some ice on that eye before it closes up."

"Now?" The younger agent asked unsurely.

"Yes, now." Gibbs ordered, "You're no use half blind."

"But-" Tim started wanted to say that A, they were about to leave and B, it wasn't necessary. Gibbs interrupted him however, "Hitch a ride with Ducky."

"See you later, McTardy." Tony called back just before the elevator doors closed.

…

Tony whistled again as he got out of the car a mere half hour later, "How many TV stations are out here?" He asked surveying the various camera crews and vans parked just outside the taped off area.

"Four and counting." Jimmy Palmer supplied as he walked past the agent and headed towards the middle of the hangar where Ducky was already leaning over two bodies.

"How did you three get here so fast?" Tony wondered out loud as he pulled out his bag and followed hurriedly.

"He didn't get lost this time." Ducky provided without taking his eyes of the right victim. The dead man was lying on his stomach with his head turned to the side giving them all a good look of both the entry and the gruesome exit wound. Laying conveniently next to the pool of blood were Marine Brown's dog tags.

"Do you have anything yet?" Gibbs asked.

"Ah, Jethro." Ducky rose to greet the agent, "I'm afraid the cause of death is rather obvious in both cases: one fatal shot to the head."

"Looks like an execution." McGee remarked and snapped some pictures while Ducky momentarily moved away from the bodies. Both of them had their hands bound behind their back with zip ties.

"Preceded by a good old fashioned beating." Tony added, "These guys look like they've been through the wringer."

"I'm assuming this is our Marine's driver's licence." Ziva took a picture of the two lone items on top of the steel table. One was the licence while the other one was a passport. "Our other victim is a foreigner." She went on saying what everyone was thinking, "Odd to leave these here, is it not?"

Gibbs silently agreed. Whoever had done this had deliberately left the ID's behind. He made a note to make sure Abby traced the phone call.

"Wait, let me guess." Tony said, "He's Italian, right? Because this looks like a mob hit."

"I thought the mob left no traces, swimming with the fishes and all that."

"Tim, great time to quote The Godfather," Tony gave him a thumbs up before lecturing on, "but that's only when they don't want to leave a trace. If they want to send a message…" He waved dramatically at the scene.

"He's British." Ziva said ignoring Tony's antics as she scanned the passport, "His name's Alexander Hughes. We'll have to notify the Embassy."

…

"They both died between 12 and 2AM." Ducky informed Gibbs after removing the liver probe. The older man motioned Palmer closer as they prepared the bodies to be moved back to the Navy Yard.

"I'll know more about the extent of their other injuries after I've examined them in better circumstances." Ducky said with a sigh and went on, "I do agree with Timothy. This has all the makings of an execution as they were shot from close range."

"Ziva, have you found any casings?" Gibbs asked when he approached the agent. She shook her head, "It appears they were picked up."

"Boss, there's a bullet hole here in the concrete but no bullet." Tony said as he crouched back up after carefully examining the floor, "The scene was cleaned." He went on.

"This is a staged crime scene." Gibbs stated as he surveyed the hangar with suspicion now.

"But to what end?" Tony raised. Nobody had an answer for that.

…

A couple of hours later the whole team was back in the Navy Yard. The only pieces of evidence they found so far were a couple of track marks - which didn't necessarily have something to do with the murders - and the footage of a lone security camera McGee spotted a couple of yards outside the hangar. There were no witnesses to question and the anonymous phone call was still waiting to be traced.

The second Gibbs had surveyed the scene he knew this case would be a difficult one. There was no apparent motive for the murders. He leaved through the sketches of the crime scene as he sat behind his desk and stared at them intently.

At the moment McGee was down in the lab helping Abby process the tape as she inventoried the victims' personal effects. And since Ziva was on a quick coffee run for everyone the bullpen was rather peaceful this time of day. Marine Sam Brown's only living aunt was flying in from Portland and Gibbs contacted the British Embassy about their dead citizen.

The agent was just about to head down to see if Ducky had something for him when someone stopped right in front of his desk, "Agent Gibbs?"

 _It sounded like the Embassy had send someone over already_ , the federal agent thought before looking up. He was a bit surprised since he'd only notified them an hour ago. Gibbs raised his head to greet whoever they send and froze as his brain short-circuited.

He was facing a ghost.

"Hi, I don't know if you remember me?" The young man asked somewhat nervously as Gibbs continued to stare at him. He tapped his visitor's badge for good measure, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

* * *

 **It took him a while but here he is! Oh, the fun they'll have... :)  
**


End file.
